


That 70s Show - Season 8 redo *let´s fix the mess*

by Little_Grasshopper



Category: That '70s Show
Genre: Comedy, F/M, Romance, Season/Series 08
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-28
Updated: 2020-02-29
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:59:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 30,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22945162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Little_Grasshopper/pseuds/Little_Grasshopper
Summary: For many of us, Season 8 was a disaster. Characters got messed up, relationships got ruined, Eric gone, Kelso gone, and some new guy was supposed to replace both of them. I didn't like that season, with very few exceptions. Here's my version of how Season 8 should / could have gone. Actually this is an Instagram project of mine, but I decided to publish the story here as well. I hope you enjoy it!
Relationships: Eric Forman/Donna Pinciotti, Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde
Comments: 10
Kudos: 18





	1. Chapter 1

(We start right where season 7 ends)

*The Formans kitchen*

It's early in the morning as Hyde enters the Formans kitchen through the porch door. Everything in the house is quiet. Without being aware of it, Hyde tramples angrily to the fridge, tears open the door, takes a beer and slams the fridge back on loudly. Visibly angry, he drops onto one of the chairs at the dining table, opens his beer and drinks. After the second sip, the kitchen door opens. Red and Kitty come into the kitchen in their dressing gowns, visibly sleepy. For a moment, they look at him. Kitty makes an irritated face, Red is angry. "What the hell are you doing here early in the morning making such a noise? And why do you drink my beer?" asks Red. Hyde sighs and makes an exhausted impression "I haven't thought about it. I'm sorry, it won't happen again".  
Kitty sat down to Hyde at the table "Honey, it's 6:00 in the morning. Do you think this is the right time for a beer?" "I didn't know there was a wrong time?" he replies. Kitty smiles anxiously "Has something happened, Steven?"  
It takes a moment for Hyde to decide something in response to the question, "No nothing. Just my now ex-girlfriend who I drove miles behind just to catch her cheating on me with one of my best friends." Red rolls his eyes and turns away "This is hardly bearable. Good night! " Kitty looks sadly at Hyde "Oh my poor baby". She's about to get up to hug Hyde, but he suspects what's coming. He gets up and walks towards the basement "Thank you Mrs. Forman, but I'll go to bed."

-cut-

*At the same time somewhere on the road towards Point Place*

„Michael, can't you go any faster? You ruined everything and now Steven will hate me. He was so angry and it's all your fault. I swear to God, if anything stupid happens now I will make your life a living hell!“ Kelso rolls his eyes and shakes his head "Damn Jackie, can't you just shut up. I'm a man of the law and I have to stick to the speed limit!" Jackie looks at him angrily, "I wouldn't be so hysterical if we'd gone straight. But you first had to find your clothes and hit on that bitch in the parking lot. If you had just hurried, we wouldn't be in this situation!“ "This is crazy, Jackie. I mean, you could have just made out with me right away. That would have been twice as good. First of all, because we're making out, and second: Hyde would have come in and it would have been the mother of burns ! After that we could still have followed him and then it would have gone faster because that way I wouldn't have to hit on the bitch in the parking lot. It's logical, isn't it?" Jackie stares at Kelso again, "Oh my God, I can't believe you can be so stupid and a giant pig at the same time. Now shut up and drive!" "Hellooo Jackie. How could it be that I'm supposed to be stupid but you don't realize that we're already driving?" Kelso responds. Jackie sinks into her seat and sighs. That would go on forever. She decides not to say anything else, closes her eyes and falls asleep after a few minutes.

-cut-

*later that day, the Formans kitchen*

Kitty walks to the table with a recording device and takes a seat. Donna and Fez follow and sit down next to her. „Mrs. Forman, what a great idea, making a tape to send to Eric in Africa.“ Donna praises her. Kitty smiles proudly „Oh please, I´m full of great ideas! When he went to camp I sent him a huge card with my face on it that says -Mommy loves you-“ She takes a short break and starts laughing „Well, it made him miss me so much he begged to come home the very next day.“ Donna smiles at her with shame, "Well, he'll be happy to hear some familiar voices." Fez is already excited " Oh I do Porky Pig!" he starts to immitate Porky Pig an smiles happily. At the same moment the terrace door opens and Kelso gently stretches his head into the room "Hey, is Hyde here?"  
„No Michael, you´re safe.“ Kitty replies. After this answer he comes into the kitchen and goes to the fridge to have a Coke. Jackie enters the kitchen behind him.  
"Where's Steven?" she asks. Kitty crosses her arms in front of her chest and looks at Jackie angrily. "Oh, he must be in his room. And I would advise you to leave him alone. He needs to recover after you do this to him. Aren't you ashamed?" Fez and Donna look first at Kitty then at Jackie wondering. "What happened?" Donna wants to know. „Oh, we wanted to do it, but suddenly Hyde was in the doorway and that´s all.“ Kelso calls from the fridge while he tries to open his Coke. „Oh my god, you two are real whores!“ Fez replies outraged. „What the hell Jackie, Hyde probably wanted to prop…“ she interrupts herself. Jackie looks at Donna „What'd he want?“ „ehh..he wanted to..to…propel your…ehh“ Donna looks pleadingly at Fez „Sexlife!“ he screams. Everybody looks at Fez irritated. Jackie frowns her brows "Whatever. I need to talk to him. Nothing happened and nothing would have happened. Michael is just Michael. It was all a misunderstanding. I need to tell him that" Kitty takes the recorder and walks to the kitchen door. "Oh, if that's the case, I'm sure Steven will be relieved. Nevertheless we should let him sleep a bit. I think it was an exhausting ride. What do you think if we all sit down in the living room and record the tape for Eric?"  
So everybody follow Kitty into the living room.  
-cut-

Hyde had been sitting on the couch in the basement for over an hour now, staring at the TV. Disinteresting. When he hears noise from above, he decides to check what's going on upstairs. When he comes into the living room, he sees Kitty, Fez, Donna and Jackie sitting on the sofa with a recorder. Just at the moment he enters the room, Kelso gets up from his chair and walks towards the kitchen "I'm going to get another soda, anyone want... Hyde...". The two stare at each other for a moment. "I don't know what to say" Kelso begins. "How about -Ow-" Hyde replies. Kelso looks irritated "Why should I say Ow?" The next moment Hyde pulls out and hits Kelso in the face with full force so that he falls to the ground. Half laughing and half crying Kelso lies on the floor "I get it!" The rest of the group doesn't dare to say anything. Everyone looks at the scene a little shocked except Kitty. She pushes a button on the recorder and starts speaking into the microphone:“Eric, Steven just hit Michael.And while I´m very disappointed in Steven for hitting Michael, it was very exciting!“ Hyde only gives her a brief irritated look and then turns back to Kelso.“Come on, man, get up“ Kelso just lifts his head a little, but doesn't make any effort to get up yet.“Why? So you can deck me again?“  
„No, I’m fine now. Everything I wanted to say was in that one punch.“ Hyde leans down to Kelso and reaches out his hand to him.“Come on“ Kelso takes his hand and lets Hyde pull him up.“It was a good one, too. I peed myself a little on the way down.“ Hyde takes a short, disgusted look at Kelsos pants.“I´m going to go change“ Kelso quickly leaves the room through the kitchen door. When Hyde turns to the others, Jackie is already up and standing in front of him. „Steven, we need to talk!“ she begs him. After the punch, it seems Hyde is back in his usual Zen state.“About what? How you nailed Kelso?“ Jackie grabs her forehead and thinks about what to say. She is visibly helpless and overwhelmed by the situation. Suddenly Fez gets up and walks up to the two „Okay Hyde, you should give the lady a fair chance to explain everything to you.“ Hyde turns to Fez "Explain? What is there to explain? Kelso walks into my fiancée's hotel room in a towel and talks about doing it?" Jackie opens her eyes wide and stares at Hyde. Fez stares as well. Donna grins and holds her hand in front of her mouth to avoid laughing loudly.“What?“ Hyde asks, annoyed. A spark of joy scurries through Jackie's face as she gives Hyde the clue  
"You said I'm your fiancée."  
"I didn't"  
„Yes, you did“  
"I didn't"  
„Yes, you did“  
"I didn't"  
„Okay, fine.“ Kitty interrupts. She turns to Donna and Fez "I guess we'll let them handle this alone now." She pushes them both towards the door. Fez sighs disappointed "Damn, always when it gets funny"  
The next minute they're all gone. In embarrassing silence, Jackie and Hyde now face each other all alone.  
-cut-


	2. Chapter 2

*In the Formans' driveway.*

Donna and Fez are busy scoring baskets. "What do you think's going on in there?" asks Donna. Fez throws the ball at the basket, but doesn't hit. "You mean Jackie and Hyde? I don't know, either they strangle each other or they're doing it "Donna catches the ball and dribbles a little before she throws. "Hard to believe I'm saying this, but I hope they're doing it. Ehhw!" She throws and hits. Fez leans against the dusty Vista Cruiser "Wow, I didn't expect that." Donna laughs and sits down on the cowling "It's just...since Eric is gone I feel really lonely, Fez. I couldn't bear to have my friends quarreling now." Fez nods and puts a hand on Donna's shoulder "Don't worry Miss, if you're feeling lonely it's an honor to take care of you. I'll give your life some brown sugar, baby!“ Donna friendly boxes him on the shoulder and laughs "Thank you, no need, perv." Fez shrugs his shoulder, "It was worth a try." At the same minute Red comes out of the garage and stops for a moment. With a frowned forehead he looks at Donna and Fez "I can still understand that the foreigner doesn't have a home and therefore slumbers around in my driveway, but you Donna, the one who lives next door... It can't be that hard to sit in a driveway that doesn't belong to me." Fez turns the word to Red "Hey, that's no way to talk to a lady. Stay nice and friendly!“ Red smiles devilishly at Fez "If you like, my foot can speak friendly to your ass!“ Before Fez can answer anything, Red goes through the porch door into the house. Donna nods approvingly at Fez "Wow, how brave." Proudly Fez grins to her "Like I said, brown sugar, baby!" Even Donna can't keep a grin from herself. "Okay you hero. I'm going home. I have to work tonight at the radio station and later Eric wants to call." "All right." Fez replies, "I'll go see if Kelso's already changed his pants."

\- cut-

* In the living room of the Formans *

"Steven, I want you to know that absolutely nothing happened between Michael and me at the hotel. He's just a huge idiot. You know that!“ Jackie sits right next to Hyde on the couch while she talks to him pleadingly. "Jackie..." he's trying to answer, but Jackie won't let him speak. "No, no. I'm not finished yet! Steven, I just wanted you to tell me if we're getting married anytime soon. Do you really think after you dumped me, my first thought was to have sex with Kelso?" Hyde gives her a questioning look "I never dumped you, Jackie!" "No? What would you call it?" she wants to know. Hyde breathes deeply before he answers, "Jackie, I followed you miles to Chicago... if Kelso hadn't shown up..." He interrupts his sentence. "Well,whatever," he tries to get up, but Jackie stops him. "No, no, no. You can't just run away. What would have happened if Michael hadn't shown up? Tell me! " Hyde shakes his head, "It doesn't matter, okay?" Jackie sulks at him disappointed. "That won't work today," he countered. For a moment there is silence. Hyde breaks the silence "So, what about Chicago?" Jackie is unable to resist a smile "Why do you care?" "I don't care" Jackie rolls her eyes, but still smiles, "Okay, you never called me your fiancée and ask questions whose answers you're not really interested in." Hyde grins cheekily back "Now you got it" Another moment of silence. Just a few seconds they look at each other before Hyde reaches for Jackie's face and pulls her towards him. This kiss could have lasted forever. Suddenly , however, the living room door opens and Red is standing in the room. Jackie and Hyde hastily interrupt their romance and look at Red a little embarrassed. Before either of them can say anything Red roles his eyes and energetically calls into the room:" Damnit. My driveway, my living room...you kids are just everywhere!" Hyde gets up from the couch, takes Jackie by the hand and walks her towards the kitchen doorwhere Red stands "are already gone." he mumbles while passing. "I hope by gone you mean gone! The basement belongs to me too!" Without getting an answer the two disappear from the room. Red lets himself fall into his chair annoyed and turns on the TV.

-cut-

*This night - Donna comes home from the radio station*

Tired and exhausted from her long day, Donna arrives home. She throws her bag on one of the chairs in the kitchen, goes to the fridge and takes a drink. Yawning, she drops onto one of the free chairs and takes a look at the clock. Eric should call in 10 minutes. She just decides to wait until the phone rings. 20 minutes later she is lying with her head on the table. Her eyes are heavy. Another look at the clock. He is too late. She tries to stay awake, but only only manages another 10 minutes before falling asleep on the kitchen table. The phone remains mute. 

The next morning Donna wakes up. Her neck hurts because she has slept so long in the uncomfortable position. Half asleep she stretches herself and takes a look at the clock. 7 a.m. "Such an idiot!" she mumbles as she pulls herself up and drags herself into her room. Only a shower will help now.  
-cut- 

*Afternoon in the Formans kitchen*

Kitty is getting the food ready. She is standing in front of the stove ans is putting a tin in the oven. "Red, you want to guess who called?" His face hidden behind a newspaper, Red sits at the kitchen table "no." he grumbles. Kitty puts her arms up to her hips"Well, mister, I´m sure you'll be interested." Red takes down the newspaper "Kitty, if this call was about anything other than lowering our taxes, I don´t want to know and certainly don´t want to guess." Kitty ignores his sarcastic comment and starts to tell:" Our daughter called. She'll come for a visit this weekend." Red again dedicates himself to his newspaper "Beautiful. At least that´s not the worst news you ever told me." Kitty looks at him irritated "Aren't you surprised? Laurie hasn't contacted us for an eternity and suddenly she just wants to visit us? It´s neither Christmas or Thanksgiving! Something is wrong with her!" without taking the newspaper down, Red mumbles "Oh Kitty, she's grown up ans has her own life. It's nice when she just visits her partens." "Well..:" Kitty answers ans sounds slightly hysterical "I hope you're right, because if not and she shows up here drunk and with a venereal disease, then I will leave it to you to take care of it!" She's about to storm out of the room as Donna enters the kitchen from outside. "Hey Mrs. Forman! Kitty stops and turns to Donna. "Donna. What is it?" "Did Eric call here yesterday?" Kitty frows "No, I thought he wanted to call you! He always prefers you to me." Unsettled, Donna looks first at Red and then at Kitty again "What do you mean by that? Tell me a situation." Now completely angry Kitty screams "The prom!?" and then storms out of the room.   
-cut-


	3. Chapter 3

*At the basement - circletime*

**Fez:** I see you're back together, Hyde. Good for you. From now on I will hide more often in the shower again (smiles satisfied)

**Kelso:** Oh, come on Fez, this is really absurd. I mean, it's Hyde and Jackie (He turns to Hyde). Nothing against you buddy, but I don't wanna se you naked!

**Jackie:** (sitting on Hydes lap) Have you ever tried saying the alphabet backwards? That is difficult...z...y..x..v...Oh no! That was wrong!

**Hyde:** Damn, you're all talking nuts. And I can't belive I'm saying this myself, but Jackie has been the most productive part of this conversation so far.

_Donna comes down the stairs into the basement and sits down with the others_

**Donna:** Eric forgot to call me. Can you guys believe?

**Kelso:** Oh, don't worry Donna. He must have a good reason. Maybe he was eaten by a lion or something.

**Jackie:** L....K...J...

**Fez:** Or he ripped up a sexy bush-mama in africa. Huihuihui! (a broad grin in Donnas direction)

**Hyde:** And again, I can't believe I'm saying this: I think Kelso is right! (laughs spitefully)

**Donna:** (grins) Oh the poor lion. He must be still hungry. Eric is no meal, he's just a snack.

**Fez:** Hey, what if Eric really got eaten? We shouldn't joke about it.

**Jackie:** ...F...E...oh E like Eric. Haha, and L is for Lion. That's so funny (laughing)....Oh no, now I have to start from the beginning....Z....Y

**Hyde:** Don't worry, man. I'm sure Forman is fine. He just does what he does best and screws something up again. (smiles contentedly)

**Donna:** I don't care what his reason is. I won't sit around stupidly, waiting for him to call. I think I'm finally going to college (thinks for a moment) Yeah! That's a great idea. That's what I'm gonna do!

**Kelso:** Donna, then you can get nailed by a lot of guys (Laughs stupid).

_Donna rushes into Kelso and starts beating him. Kelso falls to the ground. All the others cheer on Donna_

-cut-

*next day – grooves*

Kelso and Hyde are standing in front of the door of the shop and notice that it is locked. Hyde frows "Why isn't the store open at this hour? " Kelso shrugs her shoulders "Maybe it´s Rosh Hashanah " Irritated, Hyde searches his pocket for the keys and opens the door. The smell of patchouli and grass beats against them. In the middle of the room Leo sits with some hippies on pillows they spread all over the store.

„Hey,dudes, pull up a pillow!“ Leo shouts to them and smiles blissfully. „Leo, what the hell did you do with my record store?“ Hyde asks calmly, but visibly horrified. Leo gets up and tries not to lose his balance. „Record Store? You know what? Now that you mention it, this place would make an awesome record store!“ Hyde slowly walks towards Leo. „I left you in charge and you turned my store into a hippie den for your stoner friends?“ Leo thinks for a moment and finally answers:“That´s not true, man. I don´t know any of these people.“ Annoyed, Hyde walks towards his office. „Leo, I´m not in the mood for this today. Just get these people out of here, all right? I´ll be in my office“ It only takes a few seconds for Hyde to turn around and come back. „Leo, there´s an orgy in my office!“ Leo takes a look through the door of the office, takes off his jacket and hurries into the office…

Kelso shakes his head in disbelief „Man. This is no way to spend Rosh Hashanah.“ Hyde opens the store door and starts getting rid of people. Kelso starts cleaning up. It takes over an hour to get the store back to its original state.

„Well, well.“ Kelso starts „another day in the life of a Point Place police officer. I just confoíscated a whole box of lighters, paraphernalia and illegal substances.“ He's got a little box in his hand and looks at what he's collected. Hyde takes the box from him and the two of them sit on the couch. „Nice work, Officer. Ha, we´re hooked up for two month.“ Kelso nods satisfied „Okaaay, what do we do now?“ he asks. „Man, I think I´m gonna have to fire Leo. He almost put me out of business. I just wish there was a good way to do it.“

…

**Hyde:** (sighing) This is definitely gooder. Wait…“gooder“…yeah, thats a word (he smiles) Okay…Leo, I left you in charge oft he store and you let me down, man. So I´m sorry I have to say …(he laughs hard) You are fired, man!

**Leo:** I think the word you´re looking for is “fried“, man (he giggles). And I am!

**Hyde:** No, no man, I mean, you´re fired!

**Leo:** (thinks a second) Oh, that´s even funnier, man! And I totally deserve it.

**Kelso:** (laughs) yeah, and you´re under arrest, too (hold handcuffs and waves them around in front of Leo's face).

**Leo:** (looks irritated) What?

**Kelso:** No, I´m just kidding. These handcuffs don´t even work. Look. (He's handcuffing himself)

Wait… (he tries to free himself from the handcuffs and waving his hands around). These are the ones that do work.

**Hyde:** Kelso, I can't believe you got a job as a cop, man. You're stupid, foolish and dumb.

**Leo:** Man, Hyde. You have to be careful, otherwise he'll arrest you just like he arrested me.

**Kelso:** (is still trying to free himself, bouncing back and forth so uncontrollably in his seat that he falls off the chair) DAAAMN!

**Hyde:** (Shakes his head while he watches Kelso on the ground) You know what Leo? If that idiot can be a cop, then you can work for me too, fuck it, you're hired! (grins satisfied in Leos direction)

**Leo:** Hey, cool, man. I always wanted to be a cop. Thanks Hyde, man.

-cut-

*The formans kitchen*

The kitchen is abandoned when Kitty puts her head through the side door and quickly looks around. When she sees that no one is in the kitchen, she hurries in. In her arms she holds some paper bags from shopping. Silently she scurries from one closet to the next and quickly stows away the groceries she has bought. She is so focused on her business that she doesn't realize that Fez has entered the room behind her. He watches her for a moment and then finally asks "Ohh, are you having a party?"Kitty shrugs with horror, "Oh, my Lord. Fez! Can't you knock?" Fez looks at her confusedly, "Has anyone ever knocked here? Anyway, what about the party?" Kitty smiles embarrassed "Party? What makes you think someone wants to have a party here?" Fez points to the partly already empty bags "Oh come on, you don't eat everything on your own. And don't lie to me now!" Kitty sighs, " Fine. You're right. Red and I have our 25th wedding anniversary"Fez shines with this message "Oh how wonderful. I can hardly wait."

Kitty continues to clear her bags of "But not a single word to Red! This is a surprise party. Unfortunately, Red just doesn't like surprises since Pearl Harbor." she smiles with a frowned forehead. "Don't worry Miss Kitty,my mouth is sealed." Finally all the bags are cleared out. "Thank you, sweetheart. Be so kind and tell the others to come here on Saturday."

Fez walks out the door and shouts, "Of course, you can count on me".

-cut-


	4. Chapter 4

*the other day at the basement*

Donna and Jackie are sitting on the couch   
"I was able to sign up for college in time. I was late, but next month it starts. "Donna tells her.   
Jackie nods appreciatively "Wow, good for you. At college you might meet a real man."  
Donna looks at Jackie and rolls her eyes. "Jackie, I'm going to college to do something for my future, not cheat on Eric. And you should think about it, too." With a disbelieving look Jackie shakes her head "Oh no, I'm not going to college. Now that the job in Chicago is off and I have Steven back, I want to fully concentrate on making him happy. I do that until he realizes he should marry me. Then we get married, he's got the store, I pick our staff and then the kids will come." Donna can't help but laugh "jackie, do you really think that's how it's going to be? Besides... Hyde and children. Kelso wins the Nobel Prize first." Jackie wrinkles her forehead " Nobel Prize? Don't be so naive Donna, Michael's inventions are far too terrible for that."  
Grinning, Donna twists her eyes "Whatever. I'm looking forward to it. As long as Eric doesn't get in touch with me, I won't sit here and wait for him. My life needs to go on." 

At this moment the basement door opens and Kelso comes in. Hastily he grabs a chair and moves very close to the couch in front of the two girls. "Hey guys, you won't believe it!" he starts and sounds very excited "I was just at the Hub." Jackie gives him an annoyed look at "Incredible Michael, you were at the Hub?! I can't believe it." Kelso gives her a nasty look "I don't mean that, Jackie. What I mean is that I was there and as I was about to leave I saw someone out on the street. And you don't believe who I saw!" Donna just looks at Kelso expectantly. Jackie gives her first tip "Michael, I've told you before that the guy in the red coat is just a homeless guy and not Santa!" "Damn Jackie, not him! Although you can't prove it! Well… I saw Laurie!" Donna puts her forehead in folds "Laurie? So what? I mean, we haven't seen her for an eternity, but that's not why it's totally unlikely to see her on the street." Michel grins broadly "Yes, but you don't know the best yet. Laurie is fat now. A murderously fat bride! I'm so glad I did it with her when she was still hot." Jackie and Donna are looking at each other with irritation. Before one of them can comment, the door opens again and Fez walks in. "Howdy, my friends! What's the news?" Kelso immediately answers "Laurie is fat now! Haha, Fez, I just made out with her, but you were married to her. So this is more embarrassing for you!" Fez puts his hands on his hips and looks at Kelso angrily, "What nonsense you are talking about, you idiot! I didn't want to have an answer from you, because I have the news to announce here!“ Obviously very irritated Kelso stares at his friend "Then don't ask, Fez!" "Shut up, you son of a bitch!" Fez makes an encouraging gesture to stop in Kelsos direction, then he turns to Jackie and Donna "So. saturday Red and Kitty celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary." Suddenly he has a big grin on his face: "There's going to be a surprise party and we're going to buy a nice present for them, what do you think?" Jackie is immediately thrilled "Oh, oh, oh, yes, I can do that well. I make incredibly good gifts" Donna wriggles her arms in front of her chest "Jackie, he meant us all, not just you" Jackie shrugs her shoulders "Well, you can come with me. Michael will get lost in the shopping mall after a short time, Fez and I have the good taste and choose a present, Steven will be pissed off because he hates shopping and then only you are left, Donna. Someone will have to carry all the bags. So it's good if we all go together!" She knocks twice with her flat hands on her lap and finally stands on "Let's go now, I'm really in a shopping mood. We get Steven and then it starts."  
-cut-

*One hour later – Grooves*

The store is well filled when Jackie comes in with her shopping squad. Hyde stands behind the checkout and serves one of the customers. When he's finished, Jackie hurries smiling to him. "Hey Steven!"   
"Hey" he answers and gives her a fleeting kiss. "Okay, look out. On Saturday the Formans have a party about their wedding day," she starts telling. "And?" Hyde wants to know. "We want to buy a present. You're coming with us!" Hyde takes a quick look around the store and leans casually against the counter "Jackie, as you can see I really have something to do here right now. I can't leave." Jackie looks around and then sees Leo standing in a corner of the store staring at a poster. "Leo can do it. What's the problem?" Hyde schüttelt den Kopf "Nei Hyde shakes his head "No, not a good idea. If I leave him alone with the store again, he'll probably have turned it into a sauna club by the time I get back." Jackie sulks at him disappointed, but says nothing. "Jackie, I'm really sorry, I can't leave now. I'm sure you'll find a gift without me too" She shrugs her shoulders "You know, your job would have been to run pissed off next to me and tell me all the time how crappy the mall is. So I'm sure we'll find a gift without you." She takes a short break and then goes very close to Hyde, puts her arms around his hips and looks deep into his eyes (well, sunglasses ;]) "But I'm really going to miss your grumbling." Hyde has to grin "Oh don't worry, when I'm done here you can have a lot of it." In the background Donna clears her throat extra loud "Jackie...We're waiting?" Jackie breathes out annoyed and gives Hyde one last kiss "Okay, I'll see you later." She separates from him and disappears the next moment out of the door with the others.  
\- cut-

*At the mall*

For two hours the gang has been trotting from one shop to the next. Kelso was lost in the first 15 minutes. Slowly everyone is tired from all the aimless trotting around.

Fez is already carrying three bags of new sweaters, dresses and make-up "Oh come on, can't we go home?" he asks whining. "No Fez, we still don't have a present for the Formans!" Jackie decides. Donna rolls her eyes "Jackie, we have been walking around here for ages and so far we have only bought new things for you. We won't find anything. "Jackie stops and puts her arms in her hips "Donna, it's not my fault it's easier for me to find something nice for myself. Why are they so old? What do old people like?" You can see in her face how hard she's thinking. Donna crosses her arms in front of her chest "I don't know Jackie, I think it's also a problem that the two are so different. All that Mrs. Forman would be happy about would make Red furious... and all that Red would like is for Mrs. Forman to have a reason to get drunk." Fez puts the bags down on the floor and looks at his hands and says "Damn it, let's buy one gift for each of them. The handles on the bags are already tying my hands. Jackie gives him a frowning look at "you give individual gifts for birthdays, but not for anniversaries. We celebrate that the two are made for each other, so it's a gift for both!" "Hey!" Donna suddenly replies "Not a bad idea of Fez. How about we just put a lot of little things together into one big gift. And maybe we don't have to buy a lot of stuff for it." Fez beams enthusiastically "Oh yes, I know all about little things." The girls look at Fez disgusted, finally Jackie turns to Donna "Okay Donna, so what did you have in mind ? "How about each of us pick out something personal for the Formans... maybe a gesture or a personal item... we could put it all together in a box For example, I could write a little story for them. Something romantic about the two of them. It's something personal and I made it myself!" Fez claps his hands happily and the very next moment he makes a painful face and says "Ouch, I forgot that my palms are all red and worn. Anyway Donna, I think that's an excellent idea. I'm an amazing lover, maybe I could give them some helpful advices" Fez tries to give Donna and Jackie a seductive look. Jackie slaps Fez on the shoulder in horror "That's disgusting, take the bags off the floor and think of something decent" she orders him. Reluctantly Fez grabs for the bags "Excuse me you prude bitch!" With her mouth wide open, Jackie again slaps him on the shoulder, this time a little harder "Shut up, servant!" Donna has to laugh "Okay, come on, let's go find Kelso and get out of here "  
-cut-

* late at night at Fatso Burger *

The gang sits outside in front of fries, cola and burgers.   
Fez slurps from his Coke "You know what, I've got another good idea. Unfortunately there were people who didn't like my first idea..." Grimly he looks at Jackie's direction "...I was thinking about making a cake." Kelso chews on his burger with relish. "Wow Fez, I didn't know you could bake." Hyde sits in his chair with his arms folded "Yeah, great. You've all had all day to think about what to get away with and I'm just finding out about it now." Jackie sticks a fry in her mouth "Steven, you could have joined us, you would have found out sooner. It's not our fault you work all day" Donna nods "Yes Hyde, what is this new side of you anyway? Hard worker, wow." Kelso starts laughing stupidly and almost chokes himself on all the fries he just put in his mouth "Hyde, that's funny, because you hate work. "Hyde folds up a napkin and throws it at Kelso's head "Shut up, man. The store is doing pretty well, and I can't leave Leo there alone anymore. So I have no choice but to work by myself." Jackie takes a sip from her coke "Steven, you should get some more staff. Some cheap temp. You'll have more time off." Fez bangs his fist on the table and yells at Jackie "Damn Jackie, maybe you should ask before you get me a second job." The group looks at him irritated "Fez, nobody said you should be the cheap temp" frowns Donna. "Oh no?" he asks in surprise. "No!" Jackie replies bitchy. Fez turns to Hyde. "Okay buddy. Then get a goddamned cheap temp!" Hyde nods his head slowly "Yeah, not a bad call. But I have no idea where to find someone who is reliable and doesn't complain when he has to do my work for me but don't get paid extra for it." Jackie suddenly grips Hyde excitedly on the shoulder. "Oh my God, Steven!" She begins "I know how we can do it!" Hyde frowned. "We?" Jackie nods hastily "Yes! We'll just put up a sign that you're looking for a temp and then we'll interview everyone who responds to it." Donna pokes around bored in her leftover fries "Wow, Jackie. That's unbelievable. I don't think anyone's ever had an incredible idea like that before," she replies sarcastically. Jackie ignores Donna and turns to Hyde again "Come on Steven, it'll be fun. It's been years since I hired our maid and it seems like forever since I fired her again." Kelso agrees with Jackie " Yeah Hyde, you should take that offer. Jackie has a flair for cheap labor and loves to tell people what to do. She'll find someone." Hyde shrugs his shoulders, "Fine." Jackie grins broadly "Oh, this is gonna be great. Even though I'm in a relationship, I can officially make strange men nervous. This is gonna be so amazing!" Fez looks dreamily into the air. "Oh, maybe I will apply for that job after all" he whispers. Hyde looks around on the table in front of him. No more napkin. He drinks his Coke and wordlessly throws the empty cup at Fez. "All right, all right!" Fez says appeasingly. "I am not going to apply." Donna gets up from her chair "Okay guys, we should go home and focus on what's important. Tomorrow is Saturday and I still have to finish my story for the Formans." The others get up from their seats too, only Kelso is left sitting "Oh, I can take my time, because I already know what I'm gonna give away." Fez looks at his friend curiously "So what's it gonna be?" Proudly Kelso leans back in his chair "One of my most precious belongings. I will act so selfless and give it to the Formans for their 25th wedding anniversary." Jackie frowns "What could that possibly be?" Kelso smiles "You'll see tomorrow, my clueless friends."  
-cut-


	5. Chapter 5

*Saturday - early forenoon*

Kitty has dressed nicely and is standing in the kitchen, because she is just preparing the first snacks for the party in the evening. She is very busy when Red suddenly comes into the kitchen.  
„Kitty! … what ..is all this?!“ Red asks. „Supriiise! We´re having an anniversary party.“ She smiles at him. Red looks at his wife with irritation „But I don´t want a party! I was gonna take you tot he boat show!“ Kitty looks back with a serious expression and shaking her head „I´m not going to a boat show.“ Red sighs „Fine! It´s a vodka show, just get in the car!“ He tries to push her carefully in the direction of the door, but Kitty stands firm and crosses her arms in front of Red „Red, we have people coming over.“ „But I had…“ he interrupts his sentence, sighs and then starts again „Okay… I was thinking about what we did at the Starlight Motel for the first time between our wedding an reception.And, uh, I thought we could go there again, exactly 25 years later. So I got us the same room.“ Kitty looks at him sceptically „To celebrate our silver anniversary, you wanna take me for an afternoon tryst to a cheap motel?“ Red doesn't answer, just grins expressively. „That is so romantic!“  
Red's grin is widening. Finally he puts one arm around Kitty's shoulder and the two of them walk together out the door to the car.  
-cut- 

* Evening - in the Formans' living room*

The kids and Bob are all together. Red and Kitty are not there yet. The whole group is all dressed up and on the living room table is a decorated box next to a big colourful cake covered with M&Ms. A writing on the cake says "HAPPY ANIVASARY"  
Everyone has a drink in their hand and there is a cheerful gossip as the door opens and Red and Kitty come in.

Kitty's hair is all tousled and ashamed as she tries to fix it. „Oh, everybody is here. What time is it?“ She takes a look at her wrist and finds that her watch is not in its place „Oh. Oh, I must have left my watch at the…the…“ helplessly she looks at Red. "The ice store!“ he completes her sentence. „But they were out of ice. Every one of them.This country is in the crapper“ he continues. A brief moment of embarrassing silence is interrupted when the phone rings. Hyde picks up the phone „Hello…………..oookay…yeah… okay.“ He hangs up and turns to Kitty „Mrs. Forman, that was the Starlight Motel.“ Hyde hesitates for a moment, but then continues „They, uhr, found your watch in the Aphrodite suite.“ Embarrassed Red and Kitty look at each other. Bob, who is standing right next to them, yells loud "So looks like you guys aphro-did it! Heeeeyyoooooh" and laughs gloating. Before Red can say anything mean to Bob, the front door opens. Everyone looks to the door and sees Laurie. „Hey Mom, Heeeey Daddyyy“ With a broad smile Laurie runs towards her parents. No one says anything. Everyone just looks at her in shock, but Laurie ignores this and starts to hug Red. Kelso gets up from his place on the couch and does a victory pose "HA I ´VE TOLD YOU! LAURIE IS FAT!" he yells. 

Now everybody's looking at Kelso. Donna can't help but slap her hand in front of her face. Jackie sips her champagne glass and finally corrects Kelso with a wicked grin "Michael, she's not just fat. She's fat because she's pregnant!" Now Kelso starts to laugh out loud „Buuurn!“ Hyde grins at Kelso "Kelso, this is not a burn, this is a miracle...I mean...a miracle that it only happened now and didn't start before her slut career." Laurie looks at Hyde viciously "Shut up, homeless boy!" Kitty grimaces and takes the champagne glass out of Jackie's hand. She drinks it down in one gulp. "Oh, my God, I'm afraid that's not enough." Red raises his voice "Okay. Now everybody take it down a notch. Today is our wedding day and Kitty was really excited about it. So for God's sake, let's all toast and have a good time." Laurie is putting her biggest smile back on "You're so right, Daddy." With a serious expression Red turns to his daughter "This..." he points to her stomach "Let's talk about it later!" "Okay" Donna suddenly starts "Mr.Forman, Mrs.Forman, we all brought you a little something because we want to wish you a happy anniversary." She takes the box off the table and hands it to Kitty. Fez proudly presents his cake "And I made the cake!" Red inspects the cake "I see that" he replies grumpy. Kitty sits down on the couch with Red and puts the box on her lap. "Oh, kids, you really didn't have to do that." she starts and opens the box. First she takes a decorated notebook out of the box. "The Grumpy Beaver and his Wife" she reads aloud and flips through the book a little. Donna smiles sheepishly "This is a story about you." Red rolls her eyes slightly. Next Kitty fetches a big pink candle from the box "It smells like strawberries" Jackie grins proudly. Kitty smells at the candle "Oh yes, that's a wonderful scent, sweetie." She puts the candle back and takes the next item out of the box. A framed picture. It shows the kids on their graduation day with Red in the background. The photo was taken by Kitty herself in the driveway. She looks at the photo and smiles gently. "Nothing special." Hyde stammers softly and clears his throat. "As if it wasn't enough that we have you in our house every day. Now we are supposed to hang up photos of you as well," comments Red. Irritated Kitty finally looks into the box "And what do we have here..." she reaches in one last time and pulls out a small object. "That's mine," says Kelso proudly. "Treat him well, or I'll take him back!" he warns them. Finally Kitty holds the object up in her hand so everyone can see it. "A tiny plastic dinosaur is your most prized possession?" Jackie looks at Kelso uncomprehendingly. "He has great emotional value to me!" Kelso replies. Kitty puts the box back on the table and starts to hug everyone in turn. "That's so sweet .Thank you so much." Red finally gets up and waits until his wife has finished hugging everyone. He puts one arm around Kitty and raises his glass "So, thank you for celebrating our 25th anniversary with us.You know, nothing makes me appreciatemy beautiful wife more than a room full of people that I don´t like as much as her.“ Kitty starts to laugh warmly and the rest of the audience can't help smiling. „Cheers!“ Red says and all raise their glasses and drink. Except for Laurie, she is about to start drinking, but Kitty takes away her glass and looks at her angrily. Only a moment later the doorbell rings. Kitty looks irritated "We're not expecting anyone else." She walks to the door and opens it. For a short moment she just stands there and stares out the door. "Oh, my God." She takes a few steps back and the person at the door enters. "Hey. Long time no see." Eric smiles at everyone around.

Eric just stands there. A seemingly eternal silence reigns. Kitty breaks the silence by literally running towards Eric and hugging him "My baby's back!" Eric is slightly taken by surprise, but returns the hug to his mother. As the two separate Fez is already standing next to them "Well it's about time, you're not the only one who wants a hug here" he grumbles to Kitty in a playful way and grins at his friend. Eric says nothing and opens his arms to receive his friend. Fez hugs Eric a little too much and whispers in his ear "I missed you so much Eric!“ Carefully Eric releases the hug and gives Fez a sceptical look "This is spooky, man." He takes a short break but then grins again "But I missed this!“ Red interrupts the scenario "Maybe you wanna come in, dumbass. If you leave the door open longer, I might as well throw the money out the window instead of heating the house!" Eric walks in and closes the door behind him. "Yeah, Dad, I kind of missed that too." Suddenly, everyone's getting very chatty and the questions come rushing at Eric: How was Africa? What are you doing back so soon? Are you going back to africa? How long are you staying? How's the food there? ............ Only Donna's standing in the background, not saying anything. In turn, Eric gets one hug after another. Red just taps his son on the shoulder and Laurie sticks her tongue out with a mean face. "Wow" Eric starts to say when he sees his sister "They say when the devil has a child, that child becomes the antichrist, right?" "Shut the fuck up." the only answer he gets from Laurie. Eric looks around the room and barely sees Donna walking into the kitchen. "Donna!" he calls after her, but she doesn't react. Hyde puts a hand on Eric's shoulder and grins towards the kitchen door "Forman, we really missed how you screw up everything in no time. And now you haven't even been here 5 minutes and you just screwed it up again. Awesome!" Eric turns irritated to Hyde and goes "What did I screw up?" Kelso takes over, "Oh come on, Eric, you haven't called her in a long time. Women hate it when you don't call. Ask Jackie, once I called four minutes too late and she lectured me for half an hour." Uncomprehending and annoyed, he points to Jackie, who just stands there with her arms crossed and nods. "Ohhh." He starts "no, no, I didn't screw that up. I couldn't call because... oh I have to talk to Donna right now." Hastily he follows Donna into the kitchen. The rest of the group stays back in the living room. Fez stomps his foot on the floor like a petulant child "oh great, now we won't see Eric get his ass kicked by Donna." 

When Eric enters the kitchen Donna stands at the fridge and opens a beer. Slowly he walks up to her "Hey." Donna just looks at him for a second. Her face is filled with disappointment and anger. "Hey?" she starts out angry. "Is that all you can possibly think of, Eric?" He stops right in front of her. "Please Donna, don't be upset. Let me explain what happened." Before she responds she takes a big sip from the can and then slams it noisily down on the kitchen counter."Oh, you want to explain what happened Eric? I hope you have a good explanation for not calling me while you're halfway around the world. Can you possibly imagine I was worried?!" She's talking absolutely frantic and unstoppable. Eric keeps trying to speak, but Donna won't give him a chance. "I've felt alone and abandoned, Eric. I spent a whole night at the kitchen table waiting for your call. And now you just show up here like nothing happened and think I'm happy about it?" A big tear rolled down her cheek. Eric grabbed her hand and said, "Donna, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to." Reflexively she slaps his hand away and crosses her arms "Oh, if you didn't want to do this, you could have just picked up the stupid phone and called." Eric sighs and looks awkwardly at the floor "I would have done that, but..." Donna stops him. "No buts. It can't be that hard. I can't think of a reason why not, unless you got fatally ill, your house burned down or..." she's thinking very hard about what disaster would be another good excuse. Before she can think of anything, Eric resumes, "Well... actually there was a fire." Shocked, she looks at her boyfriend, "What?" Before he replies, Eric reaches for Donna's hand again. This time, she lets him. "The day I wanted to call you, a fire started at the school. The people there are not well prepared for something like this. All we could do was evacuate the building as quickly as possible." Donna's jaw dropped slowly as she listened to Eric. "Thank God nobody was seriously hurt, but the school burned down completely. We spent the following days housing the children somewhere. In the end the organization I was there for decided to rebuild the school. But this will take a while. And since I'm not even able to hold a hammer without breaking my back, the best thing I could do was just come home." As soon as he had finished his story, Donna falls into his arms "Oh my God, I'm so sorry Eric. I had no idea" Eric gently caresses her over the head and she buries her face in his chest "It's okay. I've been back here for about 10 minutes and I've already experienced several things I really missed in Africa. Getting yelled at by my girlfriend was also on the list," he jokes. Donna raises her head and lightly punches him on the chest with her fist "Idiot! I feel really awful about this." "Oh, I know a way you can make it up to me." he smiles filthy. Smiling, she releases herself from his grip "Well, you were gone for a while. I actually feel like apologizing to you for a really long time." "That sounds great." Eric grabs Donna's waist and pushes her tightly against him. Their lips meet. Softly at first, then more and more furiously. Suddenly, the kitchen door slams open behind them. Scared, they turn and see everyone else in the doorway "Excuse me." Fez shouts " snog around later, we want to understand everything. Can't you imagine how tiring it is to listen to a conversation through a closed door!?" he asks indignantly. "And please, not on the kitchen table again." Kitty smiles forcedly.  
-cut-


	6. Chapter 6

*Later that night in the basement*

Donna and Eric are sitting close together on the couch. Hyde is sitting on his chair with Jackie on his lap. Kelso has claimed the second chair for himself and Fez is sitting across from the couch with a cushion on the floor. It is "foggy" all over the room.

**Eric:** Man, guys. You cannot believe how much I missed this.

 **Kelso** : Aren't there any circles in Africa?

 **Fez:** Don't be stupid Kelso. Eric went to Africa to teach the children. Probably those little fuckers didn't even know what a circle looked like. (he laughs at his own joke).

 **Hyde** : Honestly Forman, were you crying and running around in a circle in panic when the fire broke out?

 **Jackie** : Did you pee your pants?

 **Donna:** (laughs) did the kids have to rescue you from the fire?

 **Eric:** Guys, I was an authoritative person that the kids could look up to.

 **Kelso:** (laughs hard) Oh Eric

 **Fez:** (laughs hard) isn't he cute

 **Hyde:** (laughs and has to cough) Forman, you can't say that when we smoke.

 **Jackie:** People in Africa must be really miserable looking up at Eric

 **Donna:** (laughs) Yeah, look at him, he's so tiny! (fuzzes through his hair)

 **Eric:** Hey, aren't you gonna be nicer to me

 **Donna** : (thinks about it for a moment) You're right (she literally jumps on Eric and kisses him, the two fall down on the couch)

 **Kelso:** Guys, we have strict rules here! (is very upset)

 **Fez:** Oh yes Donna. Get him. Eric you have to join in too ! More effort!"

 **Hyde** : My eyes are burning. (Looking at the couch and then Jackie)

 **Jackie** : Ehw. (Looking at the couch and then Hyde)

 **Hyde:** I am out of here (he and Jackie get up. He takes Jackie by the hand and the two of them disappear into his room)

 **Eric / Donna :** ( Snogging)

 **Kelso:** I really want to see Donna naked, but I don't want to see Eric naked. I'm having a real crisis!

 **Fez:** Kelso, you gotta take what you can get, buddy !

-cut-

*Next morning - breakfast*

Red, Kitty, Laurie and Hyde are already sitting at the table and enjoy the prepared breakfast. Eric comes yawning into the kitchen and sits down to "Oh my God, homemade waffles. How I've missed this." He grabs two waffles and starts eating with relish. "Forman, we already understood how much you missed it all" Hyde mumbles. Eric ignores his comment and turns to Laurie. "So when is it time for the black mass with your bastard" Kitty slaps Eric's fingers "Young man, we don't talk like that here!" Laurie, who feels confirmed, grins angrily at Eric "That's right Eric, you're not in some bushland in Africa anymore." Now Kitty is addressing Laurie, "And you, young lady, owe us an explanation." Hyde says nothing and enjoys his waffles and the conversation around him with a grin. "Daddy, say something." Laurie helplessly begs. Red moans annoyingly "Jesus, Laurie. I told you we'd talk later. If your mother thinks later means we're having this conversation at breakfast, please just answer her." With a pouty mouth, Laurie stares at her plate and remains silent. "How long have you been pregnant? " Kitty wants to know. "Five months" she replies sheepishly. Kitty is horrified "Red, can you believe it, our daughter is almost half a year pregnant and it suddenly crossed her mind that she wants to tell us." Red clears his throat "well, I guess there was a good reason, wasn't there, Laurie?" "Well." Laurie didn't quite know what to say "I've been busy." "Getting laid must be a demanding business," Hyde quietly notes. Laurie gives him a poisonous look, "Only half as hard as being a burnt-out jerk who lives in a basement and gets fed." "Enough!" Kitty ends the little argument. "Okay. Just tell me this: Who's the father? "Before Laurie can say anything, Eric starts laughing out loud "Like she knows." "As it happens, I do know, Mommy's boy." Hyde immediately drops his waffle on the plate "This is really incredible Laurie. Tell us more." He makes this face, like, surprised. "I dated this rich guy last year. He owns some bank. We dated for a while, and I moved into his duplex." Red frowned "Duplex?" Laurie smiles proudly "Yes, he has so much money that he built a duplex He rents out half of it and lives in the other half. "Kitty sighs "Okaay, and why didn't you bring him, darling?" "Well" she stammers. "I was sort of the tenant of one half... the other half he lives in with his wife and two sons..." Eric and Hyde are obviously amused. "So you let the guy bonk you while his wife slept on the other side of the wall?" Hyde leans back in his chair "This is going to be great." Red grabs his forehead stunned with his hand "Laurie, I don't want to believe what I'm hearing. I expected a little more from you." "He was the only one then," Eric whispers across the table to Hyde. "But Daddy, I didn't know he was married at first." Red shakes his head "His wife lives right next door with him, how could you not know?" Kitty makes a soothing gesture "I don't think any of this is going to help. Laurie, just tell us what your plan is now." With a forced smile, Laurie continues her story "Unfortunately, his wife, the fat beast, has found out that something is wrong She started asking a lot of questions and got unpleasant. Anyway...well, Frank threw me out and doesn't want to see me anymore." She takes a short break "So I thought it would be best if I moved back in with you." Kitty chokes on her waffle and hastily takes a big sip of coffee. Red rolls her eyes "Do I really have to bite the dust? Damn it, why doesn't anybody around here give me a break? What would I do with a baby in the house? He'll be yelling all day long. "Laurie's jingling her eyes "But Daddy, you're gonna be a grandfather!" Red rolls his eyes "Great."

-cut-

*A few days later – Grooves*

Jackie had successfully put up a "Help Wanted" sign outside the store. Three young guys and a woman had put it up and were standing around the shop waiting, looking around.

Hyde took a look at his watch. No sign of Jackie yet. He was just thinking of taking care of the interviews himself when the door was ripped open and Jackie eagerly walked towards the counter with a bag. "Tadaaa, here I come." she shouts happily and gives Hyde a quick kiss on the cheek. "Jackie, you were supposed to be here half an hour ago. Where the hell have you been? I almost had to do this myself." "Relax, Steven." She starts unpacking her bag in front of him. "I'll take care of this. But I thought you might be hungry, so I brought you some food." She pulls out a blue lunch box and a can of beer. Hyde looks at the box skeptically. Before he can put his skepticism into words Jackie adds "Don't worry, it's a potato gratin, Mrs. Forman made it." Hyde smiles contentedly " Thank God" he replies and takes the box and the beer. Jackie turns around and looks across the room "Well, these are our candidates, right?" Hyde nods. "Yep." Jackie strokes her hair and fixes her outfit "Okay, we'll use your office for this." Nodding, Hyde agrees with her " Yeah, right. I'll close the store while Leo makes sure the other guys don't mess up while we're in there." Only a few moments later the two of them are sitting behind Hyde's desk. "Okay, Steven, let's get one thing straight: I ask the questions and I make the decision. You got it?" Hyde leans back in his chair and takes a sip from his beer. "Sure you can, doll. I just sit here, drink my beer and watch you do the work. I like that." Jackie joyfully claps his hands "We make such a good team, Steven." Hyde grins to her nodding to "Who would have thought that I would sit in MY office at some point, voluntarily next to you and even agree with you. Life is always good for a new surprise."

*The interviews*

#1 Young, skinny guy with red curls, glasses and huge braces. His face is covered with freckles and he wears a plaid chemise with a red bow tie:

Q: What the hell were you thinking standing in front of your closet this morning?

A: Schorry, I don't underschtand?

Q: Oh great, he has a lisp too. Anything else we should know?

A: I thought this wasch about a job at the record schtore. Why do you aschk such questionsch and be scho mean?

Q: Actually, you're right, but I don't understand why you of all people think you could work here.

A: Well, I am a punctschual and reliable employee. I do not give any complaintsch and juscht do my job.

Q: Of course. I'm sorry, we can't hire you. Next!

/Hyde looks at the scenario irritated, but says nothing

#2 A pretty young woman with long brunette hair. She is wearing a light blue blouse and jeans. Her appearance is elegant, but slightly shy.

Q: Hi, I'm Jackie. This here next to me is Steven. And you are?

A: Hey. Nice to meet you guys. I'm Abbie.

/Abbie sits down and immediately looks bashfully in Hydes direction.

Q: Okay, Abbie. Look at me, huh? You got a boyfriend?

A: Uh... Excuse me?

Q: So not. Fine. And you already knew Steven owned the place over here?

A: Sorry, I really don't know what you are talking about (her face gets all red). I'm just very enthusiastic about music and saw the sign. That's why I'm here.

Q: Well, I'm sure you do, Abbie. Since you don't have a boyfriend and you seem to be quite a wallflower yourself... we can't give you the job. Neeeeext!

/Abbie throws a last shy look at Hyde and leaves the room dejected

/Hyde makes a questioning gesture, "Jackie, what is this?"

/“Oh come on, if I'm rude to wallflower it's a problem, but you didn't say anything before about braceface. That's why she couldn't have the job. The end.“

#3 A handsome young man in a suit, short blond hair, blue eyes and a stunning smile.

Q: Hi, welcome. I'm glad you're here. I'm Jackie.

A: (gives Jackie a hand kiss) It's an honor, Miss Jackie. My name is Tom and I would be happy to be employed at your store.

Q: (giggles) Pleasure to meet you, Tom.

A: How does such a lovely young woman get to run a record store?

Q: (still giggling) Oh, I guess it's just my passion.

A: To do something with passion is a wonderful thing.

/ Hyde gets up from his chair and pushes Tom towards the door "Hyde, not pleased, and I don't like you, so I'm afraid you'll get a pass."

/“Steven! What the hell?!“

/ „No wallflower,no greasy smoothie, okay?"

/ „fair.“

#4 A young guy with slightly longer hair, blow-dried to a quiff. A brown leather jacket and a wine-red shirt underneath.

Q: All right, you're the last one for today. I hope at least you're not a slouch.

A: Oh, I hope so. But I think my chances are better than bracefaces anyway, huh?

Q: If it continues like this, maybe it will. So... tell me, what's up with your hair?

A: My hair? Don't you like it? It's my trademark. It takes me at least an hour in the morning to get it that way.

Q: Not bad. So your appearance matters to you a lot?

A: What kind of question is that? Of course! The hair must stay in place, the outfit must fit. That's half the battle.

Q: Fine, fine. And why do you want to work here?

A: I just want to earn some extra money. I study part-time, mostly in evening classes. And somehow I have to pay for all this hair care products. I'm no music expert, but I'm like a snake. I'm always getting by somehow.

Q: You know what, you're the best candidate today. You got the job, uh... what's your name again?

A: For serious? That's cool. My name is Randy, Randy Pearson.

Q: Okay, Randy. Congratulations. Show up tomorrow at 9:00.

/Randy thanks Jackie, nods approvingly to Hyde and then disappears from the office.

/ Hyde gives Jackie questioning looks at "Why this guy? He said he's not an expert."

/"Steven, he's well-groomed and he's careful about his appearance. He studies part time at the evening, so he has time to cover for you during the day and it also means he's smart. Besides, he has a casual open personality and I'm sure he'll enrich the place.“

/Leo shows up in the door frame "Hey man, I saw that there is a sign saying you need help. You need more help? I'm really good at helping, man."

-cut-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> : I know many of you hate Randy and yet here he is. Just give him a chance. He's just here, he won't be incredibly important and most of all: he won't replace Eric or Kelso. Maybe this Randy will be different too. I didn't care much for him during season 8 and I don't think I have a very good feeling for him. I just lean out of the window and say that I have a good sense for the other characters. But with him? No idea. Let me surprise you.


	7. Chapter 7

* Later afternoon - Forman's basement*

Eric is sitting on the sofa with Fez. Fez is stuffing fruit jellies in his mouth one by one. The TV is on but neither of them are really paying attention to the program. "Fez, stop smacking your lips. I am really trying to concentrate on my dreary thoughts here." Eric sounds deadpan and bored. Fez sees no need to follow Eric's request "Do you really think you are going to show up here and tell me how to eat my candy? Dream on, idiot." Smacking his lips, he turns back to his bag of fruit jellies. For a moment, silence reigns. Eric watches as Fez in love looks at his Fruit jellies, smacks, chews and smiles.

"That's enough." Eric tries to rip the bag of candy out of Fez's hand but Fez is quick and holds the bag outside of Eric's reach. "What are you doing, you son of a bitch." "Give me that, damn it." The two of them end up in a fight on the couch. Eric is literally lying on Fez, holding the arm with the wine gums as far away from Eric as possible, trying to push him away with the other arm. The scenario is in full swing when Hyde and Jackie enter through the basement door. Jackie watches in disgust as the two fight. Hyde frowns "Forman, now I know how you must have felt when you caught me with Jackie." At this comment Eric leaves Fez and goes back to "Oh no Hyde, you will never understand what my eyes have seen.“ Fez also sits up and punches Eric on the shoulder again before he turns back to his candy. Jackie sits on the freezer, Hyde on his chair. "Hey Hyde," begins Fez "You're here a little early, did you find someone to work for you?" Hyde nods with a grin "Yeah man, you won't believe this, but the guy Jackie picked out is actually a genius. He doubled sales the first day by telling people Leo belonged to the Allman Brothers. I could have thought of that too, damn it!" Eric interrupts the conversation "Wait, what did I miss? Who's working for you?" Jackie goes, "A young guy named Randy. He turned out to be the best selection, so I hired him." A little pretentious she smiles. Eric frowned "So I understand correctly, Little Miss Sunshine here hired a guy named Randy who now works at your record store, Hyde? So you can take more time off?" Hyde nods "yep" Fez groans annoyed at "What's the matter Eric, get to the point, what's the big deal?" Eric takes a deep breath before he finally replies "The problem, my honourable friends? Jackie never does anything nice for other people, I told you before. She is the devil. If she hires someone for you, Hyde, to give you more free time, that free time is just so she can suck your goddamn soul out of your body!" He sounds a bit hysterical. Jackie rolls her eyes "Grow up, Eric."

"Forman, don't you have any problems of your own you can cry about like a girl?" Hyde asks slightly provocatively. "Indeed I do" is his answer. "Oh my God, Steven, why did you ask that? Now he's going to go on blabbing on and on about unimportant things." Jackie sighs from her place on the freezer from "Oh Jackie, I thought that's exactly what you were supposed to do." Eric hisses back. He takes a dramatic pause for breath and then begins to say "you know, I have a date with donna tonight..." In the middle of his sentence, the basement door bursts open and Kelso storms in. " Folks! What did I miss?!" Fez smiles happily at his friend, "Oh, don't worry, nothing. Eric was just about to tell us about his problems with Donna." Kelso laughs goofy "Wow, lucky me. You've only been back one day and you're having relationship problems with Donna. Awesome!" Hyde gestures to Kelso to shut up "Just sit down and listen." With a mean grin he turns to Eric "So Forman, where have we been? Date with Donna, right?" Eric glances briefly around as if he were thinking, "Oh who cares. Donna and I have a date tonight. Our first in a long time. I don't wanna mess it up, but I'm afraid I'm gonna mess it up." Jackie shrugs and asks, "Is that all? That's nothing new anymore." "Jackie, if you'd just let me finish, I could've told you I'm starting college next month, despite my aborted Africa expedition. The organization will still pay my fees." Kelso ponders strenuously for a moment "Do you think this is bad news because you'll be cheating on Donna with hot college bunnies for sure?" Eric makes a grimace in Kelso's direction "No Kelso, this is bad news because I'm just back and I'll be gone soon. I don't know how to break the news to Donna." Before any of the boys can respond, Jackie makes the "Eric, it doesn't matter. Donna is going to college next month too." Irritated, Eric shakes his head, " What do you mean?" Jackie rolls her eyes and stands up from her spot "What kind of question is that? I mean it exactly as I say it. Donna has signed up for college and is leaving next month." Fez, who has eaten up his wine gums by now, crumples up the wrapper and throws it at Eric's head "Well dumb ass, looks like Donna is leaving you and not you her. hehehe" Eric picks up the wrapper and throws it back "Unbelievable. I'm trying to figure out how to tell her and she's already decided and she hasn't told me." Hyde leans back in his chair "Forman, you didn't say anything yourself, did you?" "No, but ..." Eric gets up from the sofa "...but I was gonna tell her tonight. When was she planning on telling me?" Fez smiles "Looks like he's really gonna fuck up tonight with his diva act." The other guys are grinning in agreement. Eric walks towards the stairs "I will not fuck up. If anybody here has fucked up, it's Donna. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go change for a date."

-cut-

*At the Pinciottis', Donna's room*

There's a big pile of clothes on the bed, all mixed up. Donna stands in front of her mirror and holds up a dress to see how it would look on her. Dissatisfied, she throws the dress on the heap on her bed and pulls the next one out of her closet. At this moment Jackie comes in and looks at the scenario for a moment. With two fingers she timidly pulls a top out of the pile of clothes, holds it up in the air for a second to look at it and then drops it again "Donna, this is awful." Donna sighs, "I know I have no idea what to wear tonight." Jackie pushes the clothes on the bed a little to one side and sits down "That's not what I mean Donna, I'm talking about your lousy taste. You can wear whatever you want anyway, they're all sacks of potatoes in different colours and for Eric, any one of them will be fine." A little annoyed Donna puts the dress aside and " Oh Jackie, you're an incredible assistant." she faces sarcastically. Jackie shines at her and tinkles her eyes, "I know, thanks, Donna." sighing Donna sits down next to Jackie "I think I'm just so nervous because Eric has been away for so long. I'm afraid I'll screw it up when I tell him I'm going to college." Jackie nods approvingly and pats Donna on the shoulder "Now that you mention it, Donna, it could be that I accidentally told Eric you're going to college." "what?" no guilt consciously Jackie shrugs " What? Apparently it was a hard thing for you to say to him. Now I did it for you, which means you can relax and put on any of your creepy clothes and have a nice evening." Visibly upset, Donna gets up and starts moving the clothes from the bed to the closet. "Jackie, I don't believe it. I should have told him myself." Jackie makes a dismissive gesture "It's not my fault, Donna, accidents happen. I accidentally told him about your plans, so what, it's his own fault if he sits there talking about how he doesn't know how to tell you he's going to college too He's such a bitch and he makes a drama out of everything. It's like you're dating a girl." Donna's standing there like rooted to the spot with one of the dresses in her hand "What did you just say, Jackie?" "That you're going out with a girl?" "No, not that. Eric goes to college too?" Jackie pretends she blabbed and puts one hand over her mouth "Oops, here it happened again."

-cut-

*Back at the basement*

The three boys are still sitting around idly. Suddenly Kelso jumps out of his chair and yells "Guys! I have a brilliant idea!" Hyde looks at his buddy with anticipation "Every time you come up with a brilliant idea we end up in hospital or jail. So, let's hear it." Kelso smiles triumphantly " when Eric is taking Donna on that date, we just follow him." Fez frowns "What's so brilliant about that? I do that all the time. It's exhausting sitting in trees or looking through the cracks in a closet." Kelso paces up and down the room excitedly "No, not like that Fez. We follow them to the drive-in theatre and stop nearby, then we get the whole diasaster what Eric is causing live."

Hyde seems a little disappointed "Well, neither hospital nor jail. But never mind, it might be entertaining." "But Hyde!" Fez comments "Your car is giant, they would definitely notice it." "Then we'll just take my car," Kelso argues. Hyde looks at Kelso incredulously "Kelso, the MG has two seats...there are three of us!" "It's not a problem, Fez can probably fit in the trunk." Kelso is eyeing Fez up and down like he's taking measurements. "Why don't you get in the trunk yourself you son of a bitch!" Fez is nagging. Hyde gets up and places himself between his two friends "I have an idea man. Nobody has to sit in the trunk today." Fez and Kelso both look at him with expectation, but Hyde just smiles. "Well are you gonna tell us or what?" Fez challenges him impatiently. Smugly Hyde heads for the door to leave the basement. With a wave of his head he demands the others to follow him. "Come on, let's get a car and a driver."

*Living room of the Formans*

After a short but relaxing nap, Red calmly comes downstairs to make himself comfortable in his armchair in front of the TV. He has not yet reached the downstairs when he notices a sob. "Oh, no." he mumbles quietly to himself. To his surprise, it's Laurie sitting on the couch, sobbing. The TV is off and Red can't find anything else that could be the reason for Laurie to cry. He hesitates for a moment, but finally decides to face the situation. When Laurie notices that her father is in the room and is about to sit down next to her, she quickly wipes the tears from her face and puts a broad, artificial smile on "Hi Daddy.“ "I'm afraid to ask, but I'll do it anyway: Did anything happen?" Red wants to know. Laurie sighs "No, what could have happened? Except I'm pregnant, alone without a father for this baby, have no apartment and just feel totally overwhelmed." The further she gets with her sentence, the more tearful she gets. Finally, her face lands on her father's chest and she cries again. Helplessly Red puts an arm on her shoulder "You know, maybe this would be a better topic for your mother to help you with" he tries to avoid. When he says that, Laurie cries even more than before, "No, Daddy. I think Mom hates me." "Sweetheart, that's just nonsense. Your mother is just... let's just say she's not very happy with your lifestyle." Snivelling, she lifts her head up and looks at Red with a desperate look on her face. "I just don't know how to deal with all this, Daddy." Red smiles wistfully, like he understands "Laurie, trust me, life is full of these moments. And believe me, except in Korea, nobody's ever died from it. I'm sure you'll make it all work out. And of course your mother and I will support you." Relief shows in Laurie's face "Oh, thank you, Daddy!" Red nods and pats her thighs hastily "Now, enough of this sentimental drivel." Laurie gives her father a kiss on the cheek "Sure, I have plans anyway" She hastily adjusts her clothes, wipes the last remaining tear from her face and hurries out the door. Pleased, Red turns on the TV and finally leans back.

-cut-


	8. Chapter 8

* The drive-in theatre*

"I can't hear a damn thing, we gotta get closer!" grumbles Kelso from the back seat. "Shut up Kelso, if we get any closer, you might as well get in the back seat with them!" Hyde nagged from the passenger seat. Randy looks at the three guys in his car alternately sceptically "Okay guys, now explain to me again exactly why we had to follow this car?" Fez rolls his eyes and yells "For the last time new kid! Eric is gonna screw up tonight and we want to see every bloody detail of it. How hard can it be?!"

Eric has a huge cup of soda standing on his lap and compulsively drinks from it because he doesn't know how to start a conversation. Eventually Donna breaks the silence "Eric, why don't we stop the drama? Jackie told you I'm going to college, I know that." Eric briefly lets go of his straw " Yeah, great." "Eric, I also know that you're going to visit the collegue as well. Jackie can't keep her mouth shut, you know that." She smiles briefly at the thought of her friend. Again Eric stops drinking "So...Jackie told you everything and she told me everything. Why does she have to get involved in everything?" Donna pokes Eric on the shoulder. "What does it matter, you idiot? We're going to college. We're gonna go to college together. Isn't that what you wanted from the beginning?"

"This is damn boring. Whose stupid idea was this?" Kelso moans with his arms crossed. Fez turns his head towards Kelso "Actually it was your stupid idea!" "Oh no Fez, usually when I have an idea, you guys say something like -no Kelso, you're an idiot- and then I run out the door and do some stupid shit on my own! So this is your fault because you said nothing like this!" Suddenly Randy's voice goes, "Hey look, they're getting out oft he car!" Hastily they all roll down their windows hoping to hear something that way. "Come on Forman, don't let us down!" Hyde grins and sticks his head out the window a little bit.

"You know, Donna, actually, I was kind of mad that you didn't tell me straight up that you were going to college. But now I think you're right. "Eric smiles contentedly and just looks at Donna. Donna regains his smile and slides closer to him. " Damn, I'd love to just lay here on the bonnet and make out with you right now, but there's a real problem. " Donna smiles skeptically "So what's the problem?" Eric gets up and looks around seeking "I really have had way too much to drink!"

"Okay, looks like your buddy's leaving," Randy notes. The four guys watch as Eric walks away from the car. "Oh come on, that is so frustrating. We haven't heard anything or seen anything." Fez laments loudly. "Okay, I've had enough" Kelso begins. "We should at least follow Eric and see what he is up to." Hyde shrugs "It can't get much worse than this".

When he is far enough away from all the cars, Eric looks around for a suitable bush and hurries towards it. He restlessly taps from one leg to the other and tries to open his belt. "no, no, come on..." he keeps dancing on the spot until the belt finally unfastens.

Kelso clears his throat and tries to sound like a policeman "Excuse me, Mister, wild peeing is not allowed around here!" Startled by the voice behind him, Eric winces and spins around, "Whooah." Kelso quickly jumps back and Eric looks down in shock. "Kelso! What the hell are you doing here?!" Eric yells at him. A little bit further away Fez, Hyde and Randy look down at the scene. They are laughing out loud "Forman, did you just pee yourself?". Hyde takes off his sunglasses and wipes a tear of laughter from his eye. "That's not funny you idiots!" Hurriedly Eric zips up his pants again and stares at the four guys one by one. His eyes are stuck on Randy "And who the hell is that?" Randy raises one hand to salute "Hey, I'm Randy. Nice to meet you. But you'll understand if I don't want to shake your hand right now." Eric throws Randy a fake smile and says, "Yeah, yeah, very funny." Kelso is eyeing Eric up and down, "You hit your pants and even your shoes. A real buuuuuurn!" Disbelievingly, Eric just shakes his head. "This is the worst date ever."

-cut-

*At the basement*

The basement door swings open and there' s a laugh "Did you see Donna's face when Eric stood in front of him in his pissed pants" Kelso mocks loudly "Yay, priceless.“ Fez rejoices. The three boys stop apruptly when they realise that they are not alone. Jackie sits on the sofa and quickly wipes her face as the three stare at her. "Jackie, what are you doing here?" Hyde asks. "Oh, no-nothing." she stammers in a low voice and goes, "I was just going home." "You really missed out Jackie, Eric peed himself on his date with Donna." Kelso tells her happily. Jackie grabs her jacket and runs to the door. "Yeah, that sounds nice," she says monotonously as she passes. "Wait a minute, have you been crying?" Kelso holds her by the shoulder. Jackie pulls away from his grip "None of your business!" She storms out. "Pff, chicks." Kelso shrugs stunned and sits on the couch. Fez punches Kelso on the shoulder "Don't be so insensitive you idiot!" Without comment, Hyde leaves the basement and follows Jackie outside. "Hey Jackie, wait up." he calls out after her. Jackie hesitates for a moment but then stops without turning around. She just stands there as Hyde reaches her. A bit awkwardly he stops behind her and for a moment he remains silent. Finally Jackie turns to him. Her eyes are all weepy and she looks sad. Another minute of silence. "So...what happened?" Hyde finally asks cautiously. Jackie sighs and as she begins to speak she has tears in her eyes again " It's my mother ... she's gone again." Irritated, Hyde tilts her head "But...hasn't she been gone all this time?" Jackie shakes her head. "No, she was there for a while when I came back from Chicago . And now she's gone again. Just a note on the door saying she's going away for a while longer this time." "Well, then you're home alone again?" Jackie nods without saying a word and a tear rolls down her cheek. Hyde reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out his car keys "Come on, I'll take you home." Jackie protests "But Steven, don't you see, I..." Hyde interrupts her by putting his arm around her shoulder and gently pushing her in the direction of his car " Nobody would mind if my car was in your driveway tonight?" Jackie stops and looks up at Hyde who still has his arm around her shoulder "You mean...you're staying?" "Sure. Unless you want me to leave." Jackie smiles and buries her head in Hyde's chest. She clasps him tightly with both arms. "Thank you, Steven. Thank you so much." Hyde wraps his other arm around Jackie. " Anything for you, doll. "The two just stand there for a moment before they get into the car.

-cut-

*Next morning at the Burkharts*

When Hyde wakes up, the space next to him is empty. He sits up, rubs his eyes and yawns a little sleepy. Finally he feels clear enough to get up and leaves Jackie's room. "Jackie?" he shouts. No answer. Slowly he strolls across the hall towards the stairs. From downstairs he hears some noises he can't identify. "Jackie?" he shouts again as he goes down the stairs. Finally he realizes where the noises are coming from. The kitchen. Not quite sure where the kitchen actually is, he looks into every room he passes, until he finally finds a huge kitchen where Jackie is walking back and forth between the fridge and the stove. "Jackie, what are you doin'?" Quickly Jackie turns around and shines at Hyde "Steven, you're up. I'm making us breakfast." Frowning, Hyde approaches the scenario "You? You're, well...making breakfast?" She nods proudly and presents a big plate of pancakes. "Wow, those even look like they're actually edible." Jackie puts her arms in her hips "Of course you can eat them, Steven!" Hyde reaches for a bottle that is next to the plate. "Pancake batter" he reads aloud. Jackie rips the bottle out of his hand and puts it in the fridge "Doesn't matter, it still counts!" The two of them sit down at the table and enjoy Jackie's "homemade" pancakes. "Steven, isn't it wonderful? We share a house, I made breakfast, we eat together... it's like we're married." Hyde who was about to take a sip from his cup, puts the cup back on the table " Jackie, why do you say things like that when I'm eating or drinking? Are you trying to suffocate me?" With a grim expression Jackie stuffs another piece of pancake in her mouth "I really don't understand why you think the idea of being married to me is so horrible. We have a good time, don't we, Steven? "Jackie, I never said I thought there was anything horrible about it, okay?" These are the words that make Jackie's eyes pop wide open "You don't hate it?" Hyde doesn't answer and takes a sip of coffee. "Okay, what do you think about moving in here and then it's like a test? "Shaking his head, Hyde puts down his cup "Jackie, I am not living in this house. Have you looked around? It's decadent." "But why are you here, then? I thought you were staying?" Hyde leans back in his chair "Jackie, this house is huge and quite isolated from the rest. You hate being alone here. Why don't you just get your own flat?" Sighing Jackie gets up and clears her plate "Yeah, maybe this is my only opportunity since my boyfriend won't live with me." Hyde also gets up to put his dishes away "I'm sure you can do it." He smiles gloatingly at her and gives her a kiss on the forehead "I'll see you later." Hyde is already leaving the room "Hey, where are you going?" Jackie calls after him. "Work, Randy's off today." With these words, he leaves the house and gets on the El Camino. After he gets in, he opens the Glovebox and pulls out a little black velvet-covered box. For a moment he sits thoughtfully in the car without starting it and looks at the object in his hand. Finally he puts the box back in its place and drives off.

-cut-


	9. Chapter 9

* Early evening, the basement *

"I can't believe it, guys, today is the last time I'll be Hot Donna. An era is passing:" Wistfully, Donna slowly walks up and down. Fez shakes his head "That's bullshit, just because you don't work at the radio station doesn't make you any less hot, lovebird." Eric looks at his foreign boyfriend with disgust. "Can you stop calling my girlfriend that?" Donna falls on the couch next to Eric. Normally that would creep me out but I think you're right Fez. Thanks." She plays embarrassed with her blonde hair and can't help but smile. "I'd love to, young lady." he smiles at Donna and sticks his tongue out at Eric. The three of them get interrupted when the basement door is loudly ripped open and Kelso storms in. "Somebody help me!" he excitedly calls out to his friends. With a bored look, Eric first says, "Kelso, there' s nothing more we can do for you." Kelso sits in his folding chair and says "Guys, seriously. Molly Hatchet are playing a concert this weekend and I have two tickets." Donna shrugs, "And you need help with what exactly?" Before Kelso can answer, Fez moans "Okay Kelso, I had plans, but I'd love to go to the concert with you." Kelso makes a dismissive gesture with his hand "No Fez, I'm going to the concert with Brooke." Fez sulks and crosses his arms in front of his chest "Then what do you want from us ?" "Well that's what I was about to explain, duh. Do you guys remember the last Molly Hatchet concert ? That was when I met Brooke and we did it in the restroom." he grins briefly and looks up in the air as if he remembers. A crumpled up piece of paper pops up against Kelso's forehead and brings him back to reality "Get to the point-blank." Eric yells at him. "All right, all right. So,I want to go to the concert with Brooke because I want to tell her that I wanna be with her. And I thought it would be totally romantic if I did it at the concert, 'cause after all,that's where we met. " Donna bursts out laughing "Kelso, you guys did it on the handicapped toilets and accidentally made a baby. I don't know if anyone could find that as romantic as you do." "Donna's right. Besides, since when do you want to be with Brooke? You have a different chick in your room every day, that's why you cancel our game nights !" Fez complains. Kelso rolls his eyes "If you could take a hot chick home with you, you wouldn't care about the stupid game nights. But beyond that, I realised I don't want to do that anymore. I mean, I have a daughter with Brooke and I want to see Betsy grow up... every day, not just one weekend a month. And Brooke is at least twice as hot as the chicks I usually bring home. So it's a win-win!" Eric raises his eyebrows "Kelso... that sounds so terribly sweet..." Kelso smiles flattered and scratches his head embarrassed "Yes, I think so too." Eric's expression changes to a wicked grin "What does Brooke think about this? The hot, smart, intelligent-man-loving Brooke?" "Well..." Kelso starts out clearly insecure "honestly, she doesn't know anything about it. I want to surprise her with the tickets and then tell her at the concert. I wanna ask her to come back to Point Place." Donna gives Eric a pat on the thigh "Don't be so mean!" then she turns to Kelso "Kelso, if your motivation is sincere, you should just do what you set out to do. I think it's great if you wanna spend more time with Betsy.“ Kelso smiles shyly "Thanks Donna, but I still have a problem with this. If Brooke and I are going to the concert, we need someone to take care of Betsy." Eric and Donna look at each other immediately. Eric shakes his head insistently "Kelso, wouldn't that be a great job for Hyde and Jackie? After all, you made them the godparents." "I would ask them, but I have no idea where they are. I thought I'd find them here," Kelso replies. "I can take care of Betsy." There's a voice coming from the basement stairs. Laurie stands on the bottom step with an empty laundry basket. Surprised, everyone turns to Laurie. "What are you gonna do with a baby?" Eric wants to know Laurie runs to the dryer and puts the basket down. With one hand she points to her stomach "What kind of retarded question is that, mama's boy?" "Well, I don't know, Laurie, that's really nice and all, but I don't know if you're qualified," Kelso stammers irritably. Laurie rolls her eyes, "Come on, pumpkin. Do you wanna go to this concert or not? It won't be long before I have to deal with a baby. And this is good practice for me. You go to your concert, I take care of Betsy, everybody wins." "Maybe it's not a bad option, Kelso. I can help and make sure Laurie doesn't do a foul-up" Fez suggests. "Think about it Kelso, by the time you get back, your kid may already be the most saggy mattress in Point Place Kindergarten!" Eric makes a dry argument. Laurie takes her laundry out of the washer-dryer and puts it in the empty basket at her feet "Shut up Eric. I guess Kelso's old enough to decide for himself." Reluctantly, Kelso looks around at the group "Fine, I think I agree with this solution. But Fez is helping you." Annoyed, Laurie makes a grimace, " if necessary." With these words she leaves the basement again and carries her laundry basket up to the building. "Awesome!" Kelso says, "Who knew Laurie, of all people, would be my rescue?" Donna chuckles "She once threw you into the fire and now these words from your mouth, wow." In the next moment the cellar door is opened and Jackie enters. "Did you know how hard it is to find a job or an apartment in this hick town?" "What are you talking about?" Donna asks her with a furrowed brow. "By that I mean that I asked for work all over the city and all I was offered was to clean the kitchen in a restaurant. Donna, do I look Mexican to you? What makes them think I'd clean anything?" She waves her arms around angrily. donna has to laugh "jackie, you're so cute when you're angry because you're so tiny." she turns to eric "how can someone so tiny be so angry?" "Why are you even looking for a job?" Kelso wants to know from his ex-girlfriend. Outraged, Jackie sticks her arms up her hips "Because I'm looking for a place to live. And everywhere I asked, the owners wanted to know where I worked, My mom left me a credit card, I thought that would do it, but no...no job, no apartment." "But Jackie..." Kelso doesn't seem to be happy with the answer. "Why are you looking for an apartment at all?" Jackie drops herself on the chair where Hyde usually sits. "Because I asked Steven to move in to my place, but he said no. And I don't want to stay in that big house by myself. So I need a flat...well...and as it turns out I need a job to get a flat.“ Eric frowned incredulously, "You asked Hyde...? And now you're looking for a job? What's wrong with the evil women in this house? Is hell frozen over or why are you acting crazy?" Jackie doesn't understand a word of what Eric is saying and decides to ignore his comment. "Hey Jackie!" Fez says to himself "How about I introduce you at the salon where I work ? Maybe my boss can give you a job." With eyes bright and mouth wide open, Jackie goes "oh my God Fez! Are you really scanning ? That would be great, I could make up ugly women so that they are less ugly. Or I could give styling tips." Fez flinches with his shoulders "I don't know what you could do there but maybe there is an opportunity." Jackie eagerly nods to him "Absolutely. It will be fantastic." Finally Donna gets up from the sofa "Okay guys, enough chatter. Hot Donna has to go to her last performance. I'll see you tomorrow." With these words she leaves the basement. Kelso also stands up, "You know what, I'm gonna go home, too. Jackie, you wanna walk with me for a while?" A mixture of disgust and skepticism are written all over her face, "Michael, what are you doing? Isn't the subject coming through? I'm not going with you and we're definitely not doing it." "Jackie, I really don't want to do it with you, and I mean it! I need your help with something and I thought we could talk for a minute." "Oh." Interested, Jackie gets up from her seat and follows Kelso "If that's the case, I'm all ears."

Hyde is heading for the driveway of the Formans, when suddenly his stomach cramps and an uncomfortable feeling overcomes him. Not that far away from him Jackie and Kelso are standing in the entrance. Hyde stops to classify the scene. He can't understand what they are talking about, only realises that Jackie is smiling happily at her ex-boyfriend and hugs him the next moment, Kelso returns the hug and smiles sheepishly. The two exchange a few more words until Kelso finally says goodbye and leaves the property. Jackie turns around and returns to the house. For a split second he stands there as if rooted to the ground, then finally takes the stairs to the basement. Once there, he sees Eric sitting on the couch staring at the TV and Fez very energetically eating a popsicle. Wordlessly Hyde lets himself sink into his chair. Fez doesn't seem to notice him, Eric immediately gives his attention to his friend "Ohh, did we have a hard day, or why are we in such a bad mood?" Hyde gives no answer and just stares into the room. "Okay cowboy, I get it." Eric responds to the silence. "He's totally bummed" snickers Fez snickering. Annoyed, Hyde rolls her eyes "I am not - totally bummed, okay?!" At that moment, Jackie comes down the stairs from upstairs. She walks right up to Hyde "Hey Steven." She kisses him on the cheek and settles down on his lap. Hyde still says nothing, but Jackie doesn't mind "I'm short from quitting, Steven. Finding a flat is the hardest thing I've ever done." Jackie still gets no response. Hyde seems absent.   
„Steven, would you listen to me? I´ve had a busy day, it´s the least you can do!“ Hyde takes a deep breath and looks sceptically at Jackie „Yeah, sure. Doing your hair, bitching and babbling must be very exhausting.“ Outraged by the answer, Jackie stands up and crosses her arms in front of her chest „In any case, it´s more exhausting than walking around all day wearing sunglasses, making stupid comments and pretending not to care, Steven!“ A faint grin flits across Hyde's face „You have no idea, doll.“ „Steven!“ Hyde shrugs „What?!“ Jackie remains in her pose and looks at Hyde angrily. Fez just watches the spectacle, while Eric is already annoyed by the drama that is about to unfold. Jackie is about to start lecturing her boyfriend when Eric has an idea „Whoa, whoa, listen up people. I got a great idea how we can settle this. You should just switch roles for one day. Oh my god, that´d be so great. It would be the funniest day of my life. You both would totally fail!“ Fez reacts with an impressed expression on his face "Eric, you're an evil genius." "Thank you Fez" he smiles proudly. Jackie and Hyde stare at Eric in disbelief until Hyde finally replies "Forman, that's the stupidest thing I've heard from you in a long time." "You know, Steven, I'd actually agree with you, but since I'm kind of mad right now, it's easier for me to say that I think you say it's a stupid idea because you know you can't handle a day like this." Now Hyde also crosses his arms in front of him " Jackie, we both know that's not true." Demanding, Jackie tilts her head and raises her arms "Then prove it?" "Yeah, prove it." Eric taunts his friend. Annoyed, Hyde stares at his buddy. "Come on Hyde, now you must defend your honour." Fez comments from the background. For another moment Hyde stares annoyed into the round. "Fine." his final harsh reply is. Eric stands up, puts his clenched fist in the air and makes a bumpy move down as if he had just scored a victory "Thank you Hyde. I thank you for your will to make a fool of yourself in front of us." Fez taps himself once loudly on the lap and finally stands up "I'm glad I was here to see this. But now I'm gonna go home and tell Kelso about the joyful events ahead." With those words, he leaves the basement cheerfully. "Well, I'm gonna go home now and spend a night alone in my house." Jackie adds and walks towards the door. "Jackie..." Hyde calls to her. "What?" she turns as she's standing right in front of the door. "Shall I drive you home again?" Jackie confidently opens the door "No, no Steven, it's okay. I'll be fine. I'll see you tomorrow. Practice your Jackie attitude."  
-cut-

*Next day, 11 a.m., the hub*

The group, with the exception of Jackie, has gathered around one of the tables. "Damn it, where's Jackie? I can't wait for this to start." Kelso complains, " Hush, young padawan. Our time will come." Eric replies calmly. The little bell above the entrance door rings briefly. Made aware by the sound that someone has entered the shop, the group looks to the door. "Jackie, that took..." Donna doesn't finish her sentence when she sees her friend coming up to the table. Demonstratively Jackie stops in front of her friends and looks self-assuredly grinning into the round. "Hey sorry, am I late?"   
The guys are literally jaw dropping. "Ooookay, what's the gig? I don't know if I should find you hot or think you're a hot homeless chick." Kelso is the first to comment. "I was thinking a little of both," Jackie tells him dryly. She wears black lace-up leather boots and black tight jeans with some cuts on the thighs. The Led Zeppelin T-shirt that Hyde gave her is a little bit too big for her and so it is partly tucked into her pants so that it doesn't hang down on her like a sack of potatoes. "I thought if I had to spend today being like Steven, then I should look like Steven." While she's saying this, she gives Hyde a haunting look, which, hidden behind his sunglasses, can do nothing but stare at his girlfriend. "What the hell are you talking about, Jackie. You don't look an inch like Hyde. Hyde is not hot. You remind me of a dark goddess who can't wait to rip a man to pieces with her claws. And I would be ready for it anyway." Fez sighs dreamily and at the same moment receives a halfhearted slap on the shoulder from Hyde. Approvingly, Jackie tinkles her eyelashes "Thank you Fez!" Finally she decides that her show has had the desired effect and takes a seat next to Hyde on the seating bench. "Hey Hyde, will you wear a dress today?" jokes Eric. Without taking her eyes off Jackie, Hyde dryly replies "Not gonna happen, Forman." Donna giggles "Jackie, you seem to be very hypnotic to a certain someone." Jackie gives Hyde the look back "Steven, do you like my outfit?" she wants to know. Hyde can't wipe off a dirty grin "This is the best day in a long time." "Can we cut the chatter and get to the point?!" Kelso pushes hard. "It's okay Kelso." Donna calms him down and unfolds a notepad on the table in front of her. "Well, we figured out a few rules," she starts explaining. "Starting at noon, you switch roles and you must hold out until 6:00. That's six hours, we thought that would be enough." Jackie reacts with a casual shrug of the shoulders. Donna hastily skims her notes and continues " You have to stay with at least one of us for the whole 6 hours so we can make sure that none of you have cheated. Each of you may fall out of character twice. A third time automatically means looooser!" With thumb and forefinger, Donna forms an L and holds it in front of her forehead. "What actually happens to the loser?" Eric asks with a frown. Thoughtfully, Donna looks up into the air, "Ehh..no idea." Fez shakes his head "I better keep my mouth shut. Everything I say is just weird to you anyway." Kelso pats him on the shoulder consolingly "Fez, my foreign little friend. That's because you are strange!" "If Steven loses, I want a date. And by that I mean I want to be taken out to dinner in elegant clothes and I want to dance and feel like a queen! " Jackie throws in. "Ohhh, you hear that Hyde," Eric makes fun of him. Hyde puts his arm on the back of Jackie and is visibly irritated "That's it? You're wasting the opportunity to ask me for something you'd never get otherwise and you pick a date?" "Yes, Steven." is the simple answer to his question. "Hyde, what do you want if Jackie loses?" Fez asks. Before Hyde can say anything, Kelso starts laughing out loud, "I know what I would want in a second." Everyone in the group knows exactly what Kelso is trying to say "Oh God, Kelso..." Disgust is written all over Donna's face. "Kelso, I don't need to bet for this." Hyde smiles triumphantly at him and then turns back to Jackie, "If you lose, you gotta shut your little piehole for one day." "Oh my God!" Eric yells "Hyde man, you must beat her!" Jackie shrugs again " Whatever. Keep going with the rules, Donna." A quick clearing throat, then Donna explains the final rules for the day " There's not that much left to explain. Just one more condition. Hyde has to hand over his sunglasses. These are Jackie's for today." Hyde raises his eyebrows and takes off his sunglasses. Reluctantly, he holds them out to Jackie " Make sure you give it back.“ Is all he Kelso gets up from his chair "Okay, it's 15 minutes till we start. Jackie, let's go already. You didn't forget that you were gonna help me with my date with Brooke tonight,did you? "Head shaking, Jackie puts on the sunglasses "I'm sorry, Michael, but since I'm Steven today, I can't help you Steven would never try on clothes and buy flowers with you." Gleefully, she puts her head on Hyde's shoulders and squints at him from below "But I know very well that Jackie would definitely help you." Fez, Eric and Donna immediately burst out laughing. Kelso is visibly disappointed "Damn, I didn't factored that in" Hyde has no idea what exactly it's about, so his friends quickly explain it to him. "So that's what you were doing in the driveway?" he speaks his thoughts out loud. "What do you mean?" Jackie wants to know. Hyde rushes out of his seat " Ah , nothing. So we gonna get this over with or what?“  
-cut-


	10. Chapter 10

*Back at the basement*

"What's taking him so long?" Fez nagged with arms folded "I have to go skank-sitting and wanna have some fun before!“ At that moment, Kelso is stomping down the basement steps. "Guys, here I come!" He's holding a big sports bag and he slams it on the table in the middle of the room. Eric looks at his wristwatch "Kelso damn it, half an hour of our role reversal day has already passed and the two of them have just been sitting around. Can we get started or what?" Kelso lets himself plop down on the couch between Eric and Donna "I'm sorry, but I thought Jackie would just take me to some store, then tell me what clothes I look hottest in...but not just hottest but smart too, because Brooke likes that kind of thing...anyway...Jackie should have just done it, it would have been easier".Suddenly Jackie speaks from her chair. Her arms are crossed and her eyes are still hidden behind the sunglasses "And what's in the bag now, Kelso?" she leans back and puts her feet on the table. "Wooow, Jackie, that was your first Hyde impression. Not bad." Donna claps her hands in amusement. "Yeah, yeah, whatever." Jackie replies monotonously. Fez looks irritated at the round "You know what, I'm confused." Helplessly he looks at Jackie and then at Hyde, who has been sitting on the freezer in silence so far "Jackie must behave like Hyde and Hyde must behave like Jackie. Do we call Jackie Hyde or Jackie now and do we call Hyde Hyde or Jackie ?" Donna shrugs her shoulders, "Never mind. Just the way we enjoy it" she chuckles. Eric leans over and points to the bag Kelso left on the table "Okay, absolutely never mind. Show us what you got in there,Kelso." Kelso gets up from the couch and reaches for the bag "I picked up some clothes from home that make me look really hot. Of course I look absolutely great in all of them, but as I have something big planned, I want everything to be perfect. And by that, I mean so that Brooke will definitely want me when she sees me." He unzips the bag and empties the stuff on the table. Shirts and trousers in all colours make a mess on the table. In between are also two jackets and various accessories. With his hands on his hips, Kelso looks at the pile of clothes in front of him and then looks over at Hyde, "Well, pick me out something, Hyde." Like he's thinking, he frowns. "Jackie..." he adds, then makes a face "no, that's weird. Hyde!" Another look at the clothes, then back to his friend "But that's also kind of weird..." He finally sighs and looks at Fez "Damn Fez, now I know what you mean!" with a smug expression Fez nods "Sometimes it's not that easy to make fun of your friends if you get confused by it yourself.“ " I don't care." Kelso eagerly shakes his head as if he wants the thoughts to jump out of his brain. "You on the freezer. Do your job!" After this final call, the whole group looks expectantly in Hydes' direction. For a moment Hyde throws his head back and looks up at the ceiling as if he is sending a last prayer towards heaven. With a jerk, he finally jumps up from his spot and moves to the table with Kelso's clothes. For a moment he just stares at the clothes in front of him. Finally he moistens his lips and reaches for the first shirt. Sceptically, he holds a yellow polo shirt away from him and looks at it with a wrinkled forehead until he finally drops it on the floor "ugly." Next, a blue t-shirt with the inscription -I'm with stupid- "even uglier", it falls to the floor. The same happens with a pink shirt, a green turtleneck sweater and a red polo shirt. "Ugly, ugly, ugly" is all Hyde is saying. Kelso watches the scene with his mouth wide open in stunned silence. The last item Hyde pulls out of the stack is a plain black shirt. He looks at it a moment longer and holds it wordlessly in front of Kelso. Instead of taking it, Kelso just stares at the shirt. "I guess you'll take it now, _Michael_." "Hey, he called Kelso Michael" Fez comments astonished. "Shh" is Donna's reaction. Distracted by the comments of his friends Hyde looks around once. Everyone stares. "Don't get sidetracked Hyde." Eric gives him a cheeky grin and then addresses the word to Kelso "and you Kelso, maybe just take that shirt that Jackie (he draws quotation marks in the air with his fingers) picked for you." With a jerk, Kelso rips the black shirt from Hyde's hand "Damn it, Hyde, I can't believe you threw my clothes on the floor here." Hyde shrugs, "You're not going to wear them anyway." Before Kelso can respond with indignation, Hyde turns his attention back to the laundry pile on the table. With one well-aimed grip he pulls out a brown leather jacket and hands it to Kelso. Reluctantly, Kelso takes the jacket and watches as Hyde rummages through the last clothes on the table until he finally pulls out a pair of light beige trousers. "Here, this should do it." "Are we done now?"Kelso asks annoyed. With eyebrows raised and arms crossed, Hyde rears up in front of his buddy, "If you can manage to put the clothes on by yourself, yes, we're done, Michael." offended and with a groan, Kelso stomps off towards Hydes room. Relieved Hyde returns to his place on the freezer. "Hyde, will you explain to us why you chose this exact outfit for Kelso?" Donna teases, hoping Hyde will fall out of character. "Yes, explain it to us." Fez giggles amused. Jackie looks at her boyfriend expectantly, but he just rolls his eyes " Donna, what sense would it make to explain something about fashion to you?" As he says the words he has to grin a little bit himself. "Woah, I'd applaud you for that impression, but..." Donna gives Hyde the middle finger and makes a face, "Bitch!" At that moment Jackie starts laughing "Oh my God, that was great Steven, I couldn't have done it better." Hyde gives his girlfriend a sweet, happy smirk. "Oh Jackie, what a blooper." Eric blames her. Donna agrees with him. "Yes, you did, it's your first yellow card!" Jackie tears her mouth off in indignation, "but-- Fez interrupts her "Shh Jackie. Watch your tongue or you'll get two yellow cards for the price of one." he makes fun of her. She gives him a nasty look and crosses her arms in insult to the chest "Whatever." Eric sighs happily "Isn't it great when Jackie just has to shut up and actually does it just because she wants to win this game? We should do this more often. It's like meditating."

Kelso opens the door of Hyde's room and returns to his friends with new clothes on, walking slowly through the room, turning and turning as if he wanted everyone to look at him carefully. "Well, don't I look perfectly hot?" He winks at Donna and makes a gesture with his hand like he's a wildcat. "Save it for Brooke, tiger." Donna is disgusted. Kelso waves off, "It's okay, Donna, you have a thing for Eric. It's like Jackie always says, you just don't have good taste... which is a shame, because you're actually kinda hot. I mean... that's a waste.“ "Kelso, it would be better if you just kept your big mouth shut, or the tiger would get what horny tomcats usually get," Eric speaks cynically. For a moment Kelso thinks about it and finally looks at Eric with an insecure look and says "Eric, are you gay?" Before Eric can answer, Fez moans annoyingly at "He says he's going to castrate you, stupid!" protectively Kelso holds his hands in front of his crotch "No way, those are still needed." "Speaking of what else you need," Donna begins, "What else do you need for your date with Brooke?" Kelso shrugs, "Well, I thought I'd bring her back some sort of gift. But it can't be that expensive, I only have 20 dollars left." Hyde remembers something Jackie once said to him, "20 dollars? Brooke is definitely not a 20 dollar woman" Surprised by his words, Jackie looks at him with a stunned expression. "You forget the concert tickets." Kelso eagerly justifies himself. "And that I'm damn good-looking. So that's like 100 bucks in total!" Jackie rolls her eyes, "Okay, just get to the point, Kelso. What do we have to put up with next?" "Shopping," he scarcely replies and heads for the door. "You guys comin' or what?"

-cut-

*The driveway*

"Mom, what's all the fuss about?" Does Laurie want to know, when Kitty pushes her out of the house and into the driveway "Just follow me and you'll see in a minute, all right?" Kitty taps excitedly towards the garage and claps her hands eagerly "I hope you're happy about this." she smiles confidently. Laurie stops behind her mother and puts her hands on her hips "Mom, I really have something better to do than these games. Why don't you just tell me what's going on?" Kitty turns to her and sighs, "Fine." Kitty takes a nervous breath and hesitantly begins "You know honey... your father told me about your conversation the other day" "Oh, no." Foreboding the worst, Laurie's arms are lowered and now hang limp "Listen, Mom, what I said..." "no, no!" Kitty interrupts her immediately "Just let me finish, please." Sighing, Laurie breathes through "Fine." Kitty clears her throat and smiles mischievously. "So, your father tells me that you weren't feeling so well the other day and that you ...well, that you really want to get your situation under control." She pauses for a moment and you can see that the following words are uncomfortable for her "and...well, your father also tells me that you said something like..." Another clearing throat. "Well, that you don't think I love you." Laurie is also uncomfortable with the situation "Mom, really. That's not worth mentioning. I'm pregnant." with a fake grin she holds her belly "You know, the hormones and all that stuff I say things like that all the time." Kitty takes one look at her daughter's spherical belly and then at her face. "Honey, I know I haven't always been nice to you. And darn it, you drove me crazy a lot, because I just didn't want to understand what I did wrong with you." For a moment it seems like Kitty is angry, but she pulls herself together. Laurie just keeps silent. "Laurie, I want you to know I'm proud to hear you want to be a good mother. I'm proud to see you face this mammoth task and not give up. And it makes me proud that you talked to your father about it." Laurie's expressions soften with those words. "You're not mad at all?" She wants to know. Kitty shakes her head eagerly "No, no, it's all right. I just wanted you to know that I'll be here for you just like your father is." Laurie stands motionless in the driveway and stares at Kitty. "I..." she begins, but doesn't know how to continue her sentence. Reluctantly, Laurie bends down and reaches for the blanket. With a careful jerk she reveals the rigid object. A blue, wooden baby cradle appears. Laurie runs her fingers across the wood "Wow, that's beautiful." Kitty and Red smile contentedly "If it's a girl, we'll just paint it pink." comments Red. Laurie straightens up again and embraces her parents. Red right, Kitty left "No, it' s perfect the way it is."

*the mall*

"I want to go to Sandy's candy bar! I always feel happy when I'm there. Everything is colorful and sugary. I'm sure Brooke would love some chocolate, Kelso!" Fez seems to be already in the candy store when he says the words. The group is, however, still at a jeweller's at this moment and Kelso is looking at various bracelets and necklaces in a display case. "Fez, I need something with more class for Brooke. Chocolate makes you fat and I don't want a fat chick," Kelso argues as he concentrates on the prices of the jewellery, "Michael, you only have $20 left, so what are we doing here? you can buy her a ring from a gumball machine for that," Hyde sighs with an annoyed undertone. Jackie stands in the background with her arms crossed and tries hard not to fall out of her role with all the sparkling things around her. A young woman with blond short hair approaches the group. "Hello, can I help you with something?" Donna shrugs, "Only if you also sell $20 worth of toy rings." she jokes in the background, smirking at Kelso. Astonished, the woman looks around " Excuse me, I don't understand?" Kelso's about to say something when the salesgirl with her look gets stuck at Hyde, "Hey, you! I remember you. How'd it go with your girlfriend? " she asks quite enthusiastically. Confused looks from the others rest on Hyde and the salesgirl, and instead of answering, Hyde stares uncomfortably at the young woman. "What is she talking about, Hyde?" Eric finally wants to know. Hyde just shrugs his shoulders in perplexity. The young woman suddenly seems embarrassed "Ohh...I...I see. Must be a mix-up." she laughs forcedly and turns away from the group again "You will find me at the cash desk if I can help you. Kelso moans annoyingly " Great, she could have at least told us if she had a $20 toy ring or not." "But you remember how you said Brooke was into smart guys, kelso?" Jackie wants to hear from him with a doubting face. Hyde is in a hurry to leave the store. "There's nothing here for $20, so maybe we can get out of here instead of wasting our time. "There is enough for so little money at Candy Bar" Fez agrees with him with a slightly aggressive tone in his voice. The group wants to amble to the exit, only Eric stops on the spot "Woah, woah. Wait a minute!" "Am I really the only one wondering what that was about?!" he wants to know from his friends. "What do you think?" Donna asks him. With both hands, Eric points to the salesgirl behind the counter and then to Hyde "That!" Jackie shrugs, "She said it was a mix-up." Eric laughs and scratches his head "I wonder how many burnt-out guys in ACDC shirts are customers in this store?" He looks around the store and turns to Hyde "I mean, come on Hyde...what do you think?" Hyde moans annoyed at "It was a mix-up, okay Forman. Just like she said. I never talked to that chick before." Skeptically Eric looks at his buddy "I don't buy it." Hyde makes a surprised face "Ohhh noooo." he shouts shocked. "Who cares?" he then monotonously follows. Fez interrupts the two with a loud laugh and clap his hands "Super Hyde. Yellow card!" Donna agrees with Fez. "Good watching out Fez." A proud grin sweeps across his face. "Great, now that we got that all worked out, maybe we can get back to basics?" Kelso pushes his friends. Fez struts out of the store "Everybody do what you want, I'm going to buy some chocolate because I deserve it. Good day!" "Heey." Kelso yells after him "Wait a minute." Fez keeps going "I said good day!"

-cut-

*Living room of the Formans*

Red and KItty come into the living room and are already in the middle of a conversation. "I'm very glad you made the move, Kitty." They both take a seat on the sofa. "Yes, it wasn't as uncomfortable as I expected. It was, but then it turned out all right." she smiles, nodding eagerly. Red turns on the TV and leans back an relaxes. Kitty just sits there for a moment and thinks. Finally she turns to her husband to "Red..." her voice sounds serious. Red sighs and turns his eyes away from the TV and instead looks at Kitty's serious face " What, honey?" She puts one hand in his lap "You know Red, now that I've somehow made peace with Laurie after being really hard on her sometimes, well...I thought maybe you should have a similar conversation with Eric." Without a sound Red rolls his eyes and finally sits up again. He takes Kitty's hand from his lap to both hands "Look, Kitty." he starts and clears his throat "I know how wonderful you would love it if we were a perfect little family. I'd love it too. But unfortunately, Eric is a scrawny little dumbass. And that's despite the fact that I yell at him regularly and tell him to pull himself together and be a man." Kitty stares at Red with a scowl on her face. When Red realizes she's not going to say anything, he continues, "Can you imagine what would happen to him if I stopped now? I don't want to be responsible for it, so I take my duties very seriously, Kitty!" Kittty releases her hand from Red's grip and puts both hands in her own lap. "I really think you should reconsider your stance. Eric just got back from Africa and tomorrow night he's leaving with Donna for college." Her eyes are worried "My baby is growing up and who knows what his college years will do to him. And if some raggedy hippie offers him drugs, it would certainly help if he could remember at that moment what his loving parents, who are sitting at home worried about him, would think of him taking those drugs." Frowning, Red looks at the concern in Kitty's eyes "Kitty..." he begins hesitantly. But before he can go on, the doorbell rings. "We're not done yet!" Kitty hastily gets up and goes to the door. She straightens her hair briefly and then opens the door. "Hello Mrs. Forman." There's a tall brunette with a stroller smiling adorably at Kitty. Surprised Kitty smiles back "Brooke. What a surprise. Come on in." She steps aside and Brooke enters the house. Carefully, she lifts Betsy out of the stroller and holds her in her arms. "I have a date with Michael, but I guess I'm a little early," she explains and takes a seat on the couch with Betsy on her lap. Kitty joins them joyfully, so that Brooke sits between her and Red "Oh that's no problem at all. Of course you can wait for him here." Red is skeptical about the baby on Brooke's lap. Betsy is very calm and looks around the room with big eyes. "Betsy is such a sweet little darling" Kitty raves and takes her little hand with two fingers to shake it playfully. Brooke nods "Yes, she is. She can sit on her own and is already crawling." Brooke tells proudly. Red grins amused "Well, she is way ahead of her father. Kitty utters one of her embarrassingly touched laughs. Finally Red turns to Brooke "Say, how come a smart, pretty girl like you picks someone like Kelso?" The question seems to make Brooke uncomfortable and she replies perplexed "Well, you know Mr. Forman...it wasn't really planned that way. I don't know what Michael is up to tonight. I was a little surprised myself." " However." Kitty jumps off the couch. "Let's go in the kitchen and have a drink. If we sit there we'll definitely be able to hear when the kids come back." Without waiting for approval, she runs nimbly towards the kitchen. Red and Brooke follow her together with Betsy.

-CUT-

*The Formans driveway*

The group reaches the entrance laughing and everyone stops there for a moment. "Did you see the candy store clerk staring at Fez when Fez tried to hit on her?" Donna laughs out loud. Fez crosses her arms in front of her chest and looks at Donna with a smile on her face. "It was only logical to tell her that I got a sugar shock when I saw her. Apart from her, there was also tons of chocolates and wine gums present" he argues. Eric leans on Fez's shoulder "You little rascal didn't have to propose to her with the fruit gum rings" he makes fun of his friend. "Oh shut up!" Fez grumbles at Eric. Kelso takes one look at his watch " Guys, it's almost 6 o'clock, Brooke's gonna be here any minute." He nervously runs his hands through his hair, "Do I look good?" he asks around, but does not wait for an answer "and are you sure these roses and a box of chocolates will be enough to impress her? "Oh Kelso..." Donn puts one hand on his shoulder "Just be yourself..." as she says, she hesitates briefly "well, not quite yourself, but just be nice to her and explain honestly how you feel and everything will work out.

Eric turns to Jackie and Hyde "Wait a minute, if it's almost 6 o'clock, that means your little game is almost over." At the same time they shrug their shoulders. "Oh, yeah." Donna also turns to them, "Since our day's program is complete, is there anything you'd like to say?" Sceptically Jackie looks at her boyfriend and then at Donna again, "I don't know what to say." "You could tell if it was hard to play the other one for a day. After all, this all came out of a fight. What is the result? Maybe you learned something from it?' Fez answers with a cautionary tone. "Feeez" calls Donna in surprise, "Great again." Now everyone looks at Jackie and Hyde in expectation.

Jackie takes off the sunglasses she has worn all day and turns to Hyde. "Steven, I'm sorry about what I said. It was terribly tiring to keep my mouth shut all day. I so often wanted to comment on something or enjoy all the beautiful things they had in the jewelry store, but I couldn't. It's really not easy to control your emotions all day long.“

"I have so enjoyed this." Eric whispers to his friends. Kelso giggles "Yeah, if only she'd shut up more." he whispers back. "Shh" Fez quietly admonishes his friends "If this runs well I have a chance to hide in the shower. Don't ruin it with your needless comments!"

Hyde gives the little brunette a meaningful grin and just looks at her for a moment before answering "Well. I have to say... it was the most annoying day I've had in a long time." Jackie frowned and her expression looked a little angry when she heard his words. Before she can even begin to comment, he continues, "But I would do it again just to see you in that outfit." His grin gets even wider than before. Jackie's bad mood disappears immediately and a sugar-sweet smile shines in her face.

"Okay, we get it, you guys can just do it now and I'll go on my date with Brooke. Great for all of us," Kelso sums up the situation so everyone can hear. Fez furiously stamps his foot on the floor "Damn Kelso, you ruin everything." Hyde looks over at the rest of the group for a second, then fixes his gaze back on Jackie. A quick glance at the floor and a clearing his throat. Finally he turns to Kelso and co "So, you guys gonna stand there or what?" Everyone but Kelso responds with a united " Yep!" "What's wrong with you, Steven?" Jackie wants to know. Nervously, he looks at his girlfriend and takes a deep breath- " Okay, just listen for a second, doll, will you?" A perplexing "okay." is all that she brings out in her irritation. Hyde tries to speak, but then turns away from Jackie again to the rest of the group "If any of you ever say a word about this, I‘ll kill you, all right?!“

"Sure" (Donna)

"we would never..." (Eric)

"okiedokie" (Fez)

"yeah yeah, just hurry up!" (Kelso)

The attention now focused on Jackie again he begins to stammer somewhat uncomfortably "Well...this probably won't be the way you expect it to be. But in a way, it's your own fault for expecting something like this from someone like me.“ "Steven, what are you talking about?" Jackie holds the back of her hand against his forehead for a second. "Do you have a fever or something?" "You said you'd shut your piehole."

"What the holy Skywalker is he doing?" Eric whispers his question to Fez, Donna and Kelso. "Not sure yet" Donna replies as she examines the scene in front of her. "Will you shut up for once! I wanna see this!" Fez hisses and Kelso just stands there with his arms crossed.

"Okay, here's the thing." Hyde reaches into his pocket with one hand and pauses for a moment "Actually I came to Chicago for this, but this thing with Kelso screwed everything up."

"BUUUURN!" Kelso yells and interrupts the conversation.Fez punches him on the shoulder and gives him a nasty look. "Ouch Fez. Damn it." in pain, Kelso rubs his shoulder. "Say, what did I ruin anyway?" he finally asks unsuspectingly. Donna opens her mouth wide wide "Oh my God, he's not actually doing that right now, is he?" Eric tilts his head towards his shoulder "It looks like this..."

Jackie can't assess the situation "Steven, what..." "Your mouth!" Hyde admonishes her once again. "Sorry. Go on." She moves her hand in front of her mouth like she's closing a zipper. Hyde presses his lips together and barely audibly sighs one last time "Whatever, I'll just do this now." Finally he pulls his hand out of his pocket and holds something in his grip. He takes a quick glance at it and adds "But I'm not getting down on my knees." Slowly it begins to dawn on Jackie and her expression changes from irritated to surprised. She recognizes what he has pulled out of his trouser pocket and holds one hand in front of her open mouth. "Jackie..." Hyde opens the little velvet box. A curved ring in white and red gold comes to light. The colors flow into each other and are enhanced by three small pink gemstones in the center. Jackie stares at the ring, "...will you marry me?" Overwhelmed by the situation, Jackie simply stands in front of her boyfriend with her mouth open and looks at the ring. "Oh my God, Steven." A little tear of joy rolls down her cheek. "I... oh, my God, I... it' so beautiful and I..." She takes a deep breath to calm down. Hyde wipes the tear from her cheek with his thumb and smiles contentedly. Jackie clears her throat. Suddenly she notices the sunglasses she is still holding in her hand. A grin flits across her face and she puts on the glasses " Whatever," she says calmly, looking at Hyde through the darkened sunglasses. For a brief moment she manages to hold her gaze, but then breaks out in laughter. "Does that mean yes or what?" Jackie nods her head eagerly and takes off the sunglasses. "Yes!" she squeaks and puts the shades back on Hyde. Overjoyed, she embraces him and cuddles her head to his chest.

"Ohhhhhhhh." it sounds a little apart from them. "Shut up!" grunts Hyde. The next moment Red's voice sounds "Congratulations, dumbass." He, Kitty and Brooke watched the scene unnoticed from the terrace. "Are you coming in the house or what? Someone's waiting for you." Slowly the group strolls towards the house. Jackie and Hyde are the last ones arm in arm behind Eric. Erics stops and turns to Jackie and Hyde "Well, congratulations...I guess." Then he thinks "We haven't decided which one of you won." Jackie's all glowing " I think we both won, Eric."

-cut-


	11. Chapter 11

*Living room of the Formans*

"Please make sure she's asleep by 8 at the latest. Before that you have to make her diapers again and feed her...but in different order! When she is whining it can help to just pick her up and carry her around a bit. I have packed a bag, there you will find everything you need plus some change clothes in case she spills.“ Brooke takes a breath and reflects on what she has missed. Laurie pats her shoulder "That was enough info for 3 years of babysitting. Just don't worry about it. Why don't you do us all a favour and go have fun with Kelso now?“ she suggests with sarcastic undertone and fake smile. Brooke sighs and her gaze wanders to Kelso, who is holding Betsy in his arms and tries to talk to her in baby talk. "Oh, Laurie, you're right. I probably do worry too much." she finally replies. Fez, who has been standing between them the whole time, takes a step closer to Laurie and puts an arm around her hip. "Brooke, you can relax, I'll take good care of the two ladies." he smiles proudly at her. A skeptical smile flits across Brooke's face "Fez, the question is, who's taking care of you?" "Oh..." Fez's face suddenly changes from happy to worried "Well..." he stammers "Maybe I'll ask Hyde." Laurie looks at him furiously and slaps his arm away from her body "Why are you even touching me, loser?!" Soothingly, Fez takes a step back " All right, it won't happen again " "Okay, so you should go now." With arms open, Laurie walks up to Kelso to take Betsy off his hands. "Laurie. Just don't teach her anything bad. I don't want Betsy to be pregnant when we return!" he admonishes her seriously as he delivers Betsy into her arms. An annoyed sigh escapes Laurie "Stop being so stupid and get out of here!" Kelso raises a finger in Laurie's direction and then turns to Brooke. "So Brooke, you ready to go?" The beautiful brunette looks wistfully at Betsy one last time. Finally, she nods and gives Betsy a kiss on the forehead as a goodbye, "See you later, sweetheart." With these words, she reluctantly leaves the house with Kelso. As soon as they are out the door Laurie turns to Fez "Okay Fez, take her and put her in the stroller." Before Fez can object, he has already got Betsy in his arms. "But why...? What are you doing?" he wants to know helplessly. With her arms crossed she stands in front of him and says "Come on, you said you'd help me." Fez holds Betsy a little bit away from herself and looks at her skeptically "What have I gotten myself into." he asks her, but (of course) gets no answer. "Just put her in the stroller, it can't be that hard! We have to go to the Hub" Laurie urges him harshly. Fez does what he is told and straps Betsy into the stroller. "Why do we have to go to the Hub?" he wants to know from Laurie. Laurie is already at the front door, ready to go "Because I am pregnant you moron. And I want a hot dog and fries. Now!"

-cut-

*The basement*

A slightly sweetish smell is in the air and a misty haze wafts through the basement. Donna and Eric sit on the couch, Hyde on his chair with Jackie on his lap

**Donna:** It's so quiet with Fez and Kelso not around.

**Eric:** Plus, Jackie is still too overwhelmed by Hyde's proposal and also keeps her mouth shut. Great day (he laughs out loud.)

**Jackie:** (smiling contentedly) I don't care what you say, Eric. Once I get this straightened out, I'm talking the whole time. (she turns to Hyde) We have sooo much to do (giggles)

**Hyde:** Hey, I deserve a time-out!

**Donna:** ( turns to Eric ) Hey, can you imagine Hyde planning a wedding? (she laughs so loud and loses it, so she lands her head on Eric's lap)

**Eric:** (makes a serious face and disguises his voice) Hey Jackie, it's not a problem if I wear this Led Zeppelin T-shirt to our wedding?

**Donna:** (laughs even louder and takes a breath) I'm not marrying you in rags, Steven! (she squeals and then bursts out laughing again)

**Jackie:** Donna, you won't laugh anymore. For my wedding, you're gonna have to dress like a woman. No way am I gonna have a maid of honor who looks like a bull dyke!

**Hyde:** And Forman, remember what I said in the driveway. When I'm not that high anymore I'm gonna kill you!

**Donna:** Wait. (sits up and stares excitedly at Jackie) Are you saying I'm your maid of honor?

**Eric:** Woah, Hyde. Chill out man. Just kidding (makes a soothing gesture towards his buddy, but then starts laughing again)

**Jackie:** Only if you wear what I choose!

**Hyde:** Forman, I hope for your sake that you are already on your way to college when that effect wears off on me. (grins contentedly.)

**Donna:** Ha, I'm a maid of honor! I'm incredible!

**Eric:** Hey Donna (clears his throat) we wanted to do something before we leave tomorrow.

**Donna:** (frowning) What are you talking about?

**Eric:** (pretends to whisper, but speaks so loudly that everyone can hear) You know... college... separate bedrooms...

**Donna** : Ohhh! (makes a face like it's coming back to her)

_Donna and Eric get up off the couch_

**Eric:** Now if you'll excuse us, we still have (he raises his eyebrows up and down) a long night ahead of us

**Jackie:** Eric, nobody really wants to know, but since I have a good day, I wish you all the best. (leans her head on Hyde's shoulder) We have plans of our own. (grins sheepishly).

**Hyde:** (squints irritatedly at Jackie from the corner of his eye) What plans do we have, Jackie?

**Jackie** : (gets up from his lap and grabs his hand) "I'll show you in your room." (tinkles her eyes)

**Hyde:** (grins broadly, gets up from his chair and disappears into his room with Jackie on his hand)

**Donna:** Eh, it'd be kind of weird if we went to your room now... you know what I mean? (looks disgustedly toward the door behind which her friends have just disappeared).

**Eric:** (shrugs.) Donna, I know exactly what you mean... (walks up to her and wraps her around the hips) But I don't care (grins)

**Donna:** ( chuckles ) You pig!

The two of them walking arm in arm, giggling up the basement steps.

-cut-

*Kelsos car, right before the concert*

Kelso parked the car in a large parking lot, a little isolated. Brooke looking around asking, "Are we going to a concert?" Kelso gives her a shocked look " How do you know?" Brooke giggles "Michael, that big building, that's pretty much the only one nearby, is a concert hall." Kelso looks at the building which Brooke means and then looks around "Well, there's a lot of trees and bushes here too. How do you know I don't want to do it in the woods with you?" Brooke giggles again and shakes her head "Cut it out, Michael. So, tell me. What are we gonna do?" Kelso now seems nervous "Well Brooke...I'll tell you in a minute, but first we have to get out the car!" She amuses herself by frowning "Okay."

Kelso's already getting out of the car, and before Brooke can open the door to get out as well, he sprints around the car and opens the door for her. For the gesture, he receives an appreciative look from Brooke "Wow, thankyou. What's going on with you?" "Nothing. That's what a gentleman does." he grins shyly and scratches the back of his head. For a moment they both remain silent and just stand beside the car. "So... you were gonna tell me what we were doing when we got out of the car..." Brooke finally breaks the silence. "Oh!" Like he'd remember, Kelso rushes to the trunk. With a flip of the wrist he opens the trunk and dives his head into it as if he was looking for something. As a result of the much too strong pull, the lid of the trunk slams down again and hits Kelso's back. "Ouch!" he curses and tries to free himself from his position. He does not succeed and he struggles a hopeless fight with the lid of the trunk. Perplexed, Brooke watches as Kelso is trapped upside down in the trunk of her car, waving his arms in despair and cursing to get free. When she realizes that he cannot free himself, she helps him by gently opening the trunk of the car herself. "Is everything all right?" She wants to know. Kelso rubbing his neck and shoulders "ahh, that kinda hurt, damn it." Carefully he finally reaches into the trunk (this time without sticking his head in it) and takes out a colourful bouquet of flowers and a heart-shaped box of chocolates. "So Brooke..." Kelso stammers and turns to her "These are for you, I hope you like them." He hands her the bouquet and a smile comes over Brooke's face, "Michael, they're beautiful." She receives the bouquet and smells the fresh flowers. "And if you like chocolate and don't ruin your figure with it, these are for you, too." he hesitantly offers her the chocolates, too. "Michael, I don't think a box of chocolates is gonna make me fat." Relieved, Kelso breathes out, "Ha-ha, great. Then they're yours." Brooke carefully places the chocolates and flowers on the passenger seat and drives nervously through her hair "Okay, the surprising invitation, you try to behave demurely and bring me presents as well. Please tell me now what that means, Michael." Kelso starts stammering "well, you know, I wanted everything to be perfect here. And I'm really afraid of messing it up because that's what I do best." Brooke's face is wrapped in a mixture of pity and sympathy, but she says nothing and continues listening to him. "You know, I understood that Betsy is the best thing that ever happened to me. And that's crazy, because she can't even talk properly, drools half the day and poops her pants." he has to laugh as he strays from his real subject. When he realizes that he is going off the path, he quickly clears his throat and says "well, anyway, I want to see Betsy grow up. Every day, not just a couple of weekends a year. And I also understood that I want us to be a family. But you're so pretty and smart and I'm... well, I'm pretty good-looking too, but I'm not smart like you. And that's why I'm scared that you don't want us to be a family. I thought it would be a good idea if we had a nice evening together and you could see that I mean it." Full of expectation he looks into her face with a puppy-dog glance. "I don't know what to say," she replies. Disappointed Kelso looks down at the floor "So, you don't want us to be a family?" he asks sadly. Brooke shakes her head with a gentle smile "Michael, you are such a goofball. No matter what happens, we're already family." "what do you mean?" he questions her statement. Brooke grabs his wrists with both hands and holds them. Their eyes meet. "Betsy is our daughter. We are parents. And I want you to be a part of her life. You're important to her and to me." Kelso's face lights up "I'm important to you?" he questions, just to make sure he didn't mishear. Brooke smiles and nods, "Of course. And I don't know how you do it, but even though I always had the distinct impression that you were the biggest idiot on the planet, I have a thing for you." Kelso shines after she says the words "So, would you and Betsy move in with me?" before Brooke can react he adds "don't worry, Fez can move out! A cautious shake of the head "No, Michael. I think it would be too rash." "But you said..." she stops him. "Just let it go and try it slowly, okay? I suggest for now we just have a nice evening." She releases her grip from his wrists and grabs his left arm instead, clutching it tightly. "We're gonna go in there, attend the concert and have a good time. And for the next few weeks, we'll simply meet more often and see what happens. Alright?" is her suggestion as they slowly walk towards the building. Kelso sighs "That sounds fair." After a few steps Kelso laughs "You know what, we're going to Molly Hatchet. We could do it like we did at the last concert... we'll just skip the part after that. Betsy's enough for me now." With feigned indignation and a laugh Brooke gives him a slap on the shoulder "You're crazy! No way."

-cut-

*The hub*

Smacking Laurie stuffs some fries into her mouth and chews with relish. "Oh, my God, this is exactly what I needed right now!" she raves with her mouth full. Fez has just ordered a drink and keeps an eye on Besty, who is sitting in her stroller and mumbling happily but incomprehensibly and squealing over and over again. "So far, Betsy's not too hard to take care of." Fez reflects on the situation. Laurie just nods and bites off another piece of her hot dog. "And a pregnant woman apparently only needs a hot dog and fries to be happy," he adds and watches as Laurie stuffs her food into her mouth. "I'm eating for two, so shut up," she bawls at him. Fez takes a sip of his drink "Stay loose, it wasn't a criticism at all!" he rolls his eyes. Because she has eaten so hastily, Laurie is quite crowded and leans back in her chair. "Oh, my God, I feel like a manatee!" she moans and strokes her stomach. "Feeeez" she whines "I don't think I can move anymore." Fez crosses his arms in front of his chest "And what do you think I should do now?" he asks snippily. With a pout, she looks at him "Help me up." With a tug, he stands up from his chair and puts his arms on his hips "I remember you said not to touch you!" Laurie rolls her eyes "Stop acting like a little girl and help me get up I have to go to the restroom!" "Fine, woman!" He holds out a hand to Laurie so she can reach for it. She tries to pull herself up, and with all his might, he tries to help her. Still, it takes an unusually long time for Laurie to stand on both feet. "Damn you're heavy-weight" Fez finally moans. Laurie gives him a poisonous look and stomps clumsily past him to the toilets. Shaking his head Fez takes a seat again and looks at Betsy "I hope you don't turn into such a brat later!" Betsy laughs happily and Fez has to grin at the sight of her "Forget what I said, you'll be a cute princess!“ "Fez?" suddenly a female voice comes up behind him. Surprised, Fez turns around. When he realizes who is standing there in front of him, all words are stuck in his throat. "Fez, it is really you!" he nervously grins "Yes Fez. I am." Nina is wearing a red short dress and her hair is a little longer than the last time they saw each other. With red cheeks she smiles happily at him "It's so good to see you." "Nina, it's good too... to see you, I mean. It's good to see you too." Fez stammers in a surprised voice Embarrassed, she moves her hand through her hair "What are you doing here?" she wants to know. "What am I doing here? You mean you want to know what I'm doing here... yes, of course." Nervously he grabs his cup and lifts it demonstratively into the air "drink." Without saying anything she nods and her eyes finally wander to Betsy "You have a baby with you?" she asks insecure. Before he has thought of an answer Laurie comes back from the toilet "Fez, I hope you have some of your drink left for me, I'm thirs-...who is that?“ Laurie gives Nina an arrogant look and takes the cup from Fez's hand. Fez is unable to answer either of them and so Nina reaches out a hand to Laurie to greet her "Hi I'm Nina". Laurie looks at the hand briefly, but does not reach for it. "Great for you," she replies bitchily. Nina pulls back her hand and looks at Laurie's belly "I see..." she clears her throat briefly "...well, it seems to work out well for you. I think I'll be leaving now." When Fez realizes what Nina means by that he wants to stop her and clear up the misunderstanding but can't make a sound. Instead he just watches Nina leaving the store with a melancholic smile. "Come on, we're going, too. I want to go home," Laurie demands. Fez still looks at the door Nina has just walked through and sighs "Yes, fine, let's go" he replies dejectedly.

*Sunday afternoon, driveway of the Formans*

The gang is gathered together with Bob, Red and Kitty in the driveway. Eric puts one last bag in the Vista Cruiser and claps his hands "Well, that's it. We have loaded everything. Now all I need is the pretty neighbor's daughter." he smiles at Donna. "Watch out, boy!" Bob tells him, "You take good care of my little girl." "Daaaad...' sighs Donna. Bob takes her in his arms and presses a tear "My little girl has grown up so fast." he moans. "My God, Bob. Stop crying like a lady. They're always here on weekends." Bob releases Donna and turns to his neighbor a "Hey, I'm proud of my daughter and sad that she's leaving me.“ With a grumpy expression on his face, Red mutters, "I don't care, I told you on my property no weeping!" " Shut up!" Kitty's voice comes out and she huddles past Bob and Red to her son. "Promise me you'll keep in touch with us, Eric." She tugs on his jacket and rushes through his hair as if to make sure Eric leaves the house in an orderly fashion. "Yes, of course, Mum," he replies monotonously. "And you must have balanced meals!" Eric nods. "And always go to bed early." Another nod. "And no drugs!" "Mum..." he puts both hands on her shoulders "I can handle it. I'm a big boy." Sadly she looks at Eric "That's what worries me" she sighs. "Kitty..." Red puts an arm on her shoulder from behind "come on, let's go inside. You'll see him again in a week. And like the kid says, he's all grown up and he's gonna make it." Eric looks at his father in amazement "Wow, Dad. I can hardly believe it. Were those... were those kind words coming out of your mouth? For me?" Red nods slowly with his head " I'm sure you won't disappoint us, my son." Gently he pushes Kitty towards the house " So Kitty, and now we leave the dumbasses alone. I'm sure they' ve got some daffy things to say that I don't want to hear. " Bob wants to follow them into the house "And you go home too, Bob." orders Red without turning around. Bob shrugs his shoulders "Then I'll just go and have fun in the pool with some magazines" he giggles and leaves the driveway. Before Red closes the terrace door he turns to the clique " Oh, Steven...if you're done with your nonsense, please have a word with me. I wanna talk to you about something." Hyde nods „Sure.“

The gang is left alone in the driveway and finally Kelso is the first to say, "Oh man, guys, can you believe it? Things are definitely working out great for all of us." He looks around the group and starts to list "Eric and Donna are going to college together, Hyde finally proposed to Jackie, Brooke and I are on our way to do it again soon..." Finally Kelso looks at Fez and thinks "And Fez...well...oh I don't know either. Why don't you tell us, buddy ?" Fez crosses his arms in front of his chest "I am happy that things are going so well for all of you. Fez has nothing else in his life. I guess it's just the same old story. Everybody has a relationship and Fez has nothing." Jackie looks at him with pity, "Don't blame yourself." she cheers him up "A lot of girls think you're a great guy, I'm sure. It's just because you're a foreigner. That just downgrades everything a bit," she says convinced. "Oh yes, the foreigner doesn't get a girl. Sure. If anyone is looking for me, I'm gonna go home and watch some Playboy magazines. Cause those are the only girls I can have. Good day! " Insulted, Fez stomps away, "But Fez, wait a minute." Eric yells after him "I said good day!" Fez yells and continues on his way. Donna sulks briefly "Poor Fez." Kelso puts an arm around Donna's shoulder like a buddy. When he's done with the Playboys, he'll feel better. I know the feeling, believe me." Disgusted Donna slaps his arm off her shoulder "Disgusting!" she comments with her tongue stretched out. "Guys, I hate to interrupt our conversation, but we have to get going," Eric notices with a glance at his wristwatch. "Who wants a last hug?" he spreads his arms and turns once expectantly to each of his friends to "Forget it Forman, you'll come home on weekends. For five days there will be no hug." Hyde grunts at him. Affronted, Eric opens the car door, "Well, okay. Donna, get in, we're leaving these ungrateful fools." Grinning, Donna opens the passenger door and gets into the car. "See you next week!"

Eric starts the engine and they drive off.

-cut-


	12. Chapter 12

*the formans kitchen*

Kitty is busy cleaning all the surfaces in the kitchen when Hyde enters the room through the porch door. Like a rubber ball, she bounces with the rag in her hand from one corner to the next. She is so engrossed in her activities that she does not notice Hyde at first. There is a half-filled wine glass on the counter. Kitty stops there and drinks it down in one gulp. In a half pirrouette she turns around to clean other places in the kitchen, but is startled when she sees Hyde, who had been watching her wordlessly the whole time. Embarrassed, she stands there torpidly for a moment. "Oh, Steven," she finally says and her frozen expression forms into a forced smile. "Is everything all right?" Hyde asks. His gaze wanders between Kitty, the rag in her hand and the empty wine glass in the background. Kitty presses her lips together and pushes her arms into her hips. What at first looks like she's about to throw a tantrum turns out to be one of those typical loud Kitty laughs where no one ever knows what they actually mean. "But of course, Steven. What could be wrong?" she rushes over to him and pulls out one of the chairs from the table "Sit down, I'll find Red." Kitty prances hurriedly towards the living room and calls for her husband, singing. Hyde gives her an irritated look, but finally sits down on the chair that Kitty had literally put in front of him. It doesn't take long until she, followed by Red, returns to the kitchen. "Ah, Steven. Glad you could make it." Red greets him and sits at the kitchen table in his usual chair. On the table in front of him he places a folded newspaper, which he has read until a few moments ago. Hyde just nods silently and looks at Red expectantly. Kitty also takes a chair and sits down beside Hyde. She claps her hands excitedly " Now go." she grins excitedly at Red. Red clears his throat and turns his gaze to Hyde "Okay Steven, let's just get straight to the point. This is about you and your little girlfriend." Red pauses for a moment and tries to see a reaction in Hyde's face. Hyde keeps quiet and waits for Red to continue his speech. "My first thought when I saw you standing there in the driveway was... What a bunch of dumbasses." Hyde raises his eyebrows and nods, shrugging his shoulders, "Yes, I heard." "Red!" Kitty admonishes her husband. A quick roll of the eyes, then he continues "But you know, boy, my second thought was that this is my chance." His lips form a satisfied smile. Frowning, Hyde looks at the joy on Red's face "And that means exactly what?" he wants to know. Red puts one hand on Hyde's shoulder. The look on his face is unchanged "This means that if Eric goes off to college and you marry your girlfriend, soon neither of you will live in my house." He taps Hyde twice lightly on the shoulder and finally pulls his arm back. "So is this the kind of nice way to kick me out or what?" Hyde wants to know skeptically. "Oh no, no." Kitty interferes on the conversation. "What Red wanted to say, sweetie, when you and Jackie get married, you'll need a place to live. You can't live in our basement." "I would have thought of that myself sooner or later," Hyde replies and his gaze wanders back from Kitty to Red. "Steven, I want you to have this." Red pulls out a rectangular piece of paper from his folded newspaper and hands it to Hyde. Reluctantly, Hyde takes the paper from his hand and takes a look at it. "I have put the rents you have paid us all those years into an account and Saved it for you," Red tells him with a proud smile. Hyde looks at the number on the check. In his mind he repeats it two or three times before he is sure he has read it correctly. "Wow, thanks." is all he comes up with. Kitty slides a little closer to Hyde and stretches her head far out to have a look at the check as well. "I'm sure it will be a great help to you," she gleams happily. "Actually, I thought we might need it for bail. But this is better." Red adds with a grin and gets up from his chair. "Thank you, Red." Hyde extends his gratitude one more time. Red gives his adopted son an appreciative nod and disappears out of the kitchen with his newspaper. Hyde finally gets up and wants to walk towards the basement when Kitty's voice goes "Steven, do you really think you're doing the right thing?" Concern is showing in her eyes. Hyde looks at the fragile little woman in front of him. Finally he takes a step towards her and touches her arm gently "Mrs. Forman, I promise you I have thought about this for a really long time and I came to this conclusion over and over again." Kitty looks at Hyde's hand on her arm and finally looks into his face with sad eyes. Before Hyde can put an end to the situation Kitty lets herself fall to his chest and wraps both arms around him "My babies are growing up so fast" she sobs. Sighing, Hyde reiterates her embrace, "I know." He replies and pats her timidly on the back.

-cut-

*Fez and Kelso's apartment

Kelso sits on the couch and works his nails with nail file. He's so focused on the job that his tongue sticks out the corner of his mouth. From the bathroom you can hear the running shower and a muffled singing. Kelso interrupts his activity briefly and turns his head to the bathroom "Damn Fez, how long is it going to take in there? I really have to pee." he yells at the door, but gets no answer. Shaking his head and with a groan he turns back to his fingers. He has just started again when the doorbell rings. Annoyed he throws the nail file on the table and shuffles to the door. "Hey Michael." the little brunette greets him and walks right in. Determined, she walks past him and lets herself drop onto the sofa. Snappily Kelso slams the door and gives Jackie a questioning look, "Hello Jackie...what are you doing here?" Jackie casually crosses her legs and leans back "Oh I'm here to see Fez, is he around?" Kelso doesn't answer her and instead points to the bathroom door with an annoyed expression. Jackie follows his gaze. In this moment of silence she also hears the singing behind the door "♪moovin ma feet to the disco beat ♪How in the world could I keep my seat♪“

Sceptically Jackie stares at the door "How can you bear it?" she asks arrogantly. Kelso sits on the sofa next to Jackie and shakes his head "It's a burden, Jackie!" She pats his knee in a pretense of pity. "Let's talk about something else, the topic is currently nothing for my fragile nerves. It only puts pressure on my fully-filled bladder." he moans. Disgust appears on Jackie's face and she quickly pulls her hand back from Kelso's leg. "So how are the wedding plans going?" Kelso wants to know from Jackie. Instead of babbling like a waterfall, Jackie shrugs, "There are no concrete plans yet." Kelso frowned "What are you saying, Jackie? That doesn't sound like you at all." "Well." She's pointing her hand at the bathroom, "That's why I'm here. Fez was going to ask at _Jeri's Fresh Hair_ to give me a job." Kelso laughs mockingly "Sure, you go to work. What does that have to do with Hyde?" Eye rolling. "Michael, are you really that dumb or are you just pretending?" Kelso makes a quick strained look in the air, "I think I am." is his response. "Okay, look." Jackie leans over to him "I wanted this job to get an apartment, but now I want this job because I know that a wedding costs a lot of money. And I don't want Steven to have to raise that money by himself." Surprised Kelso looks at his ex-girlfriend, "Wow, Jackie. I didn't expect that from you. You never said anything like that when we were together." His voice sounds a little jealous. "Maybe I never said anything like that because I paid for everything anyway?" the little brunette's voice sounds shrill. Kelso gets up off the couch "So what, you could've at least said it was okay if I didn't pay." He shakes his head in disbelief, "Now if you'll excuse me, I really can't hold it any longer!" With these words Kelso storms into Fez's room and slams the door behind him. As if she couldn't believe what she had just heard and seen Jackie grabs her forehead and closes her eyes "Oh my God..."

A few moments later the bathroom door opens. Warm, moist air flows out of the small room into the living room. Wrapped in a cloud of aftershave and perfume, Fez appears out of the bathroom. "Hey Jackie!" he greets her joyfully. Jackie snubs "Fez, don't you think a little less would've done it ?" Fez lifts both arms to his hips and stops in front of her "I work at a place that beautiful women visit to experience a bit of wellness. Don't you think the ladies deserve a little bit of Fez smelling good to them ?!" Jackie just gives her foreign friend a disbelieving look as Kelso slams the door to Fez's room "Ohhhhhh, that felt good." he grins contentedly, stretching his arms wide. "What exactly do you mean Kelso?" Fez wants to know. "Ehh." Kelso stammers. "I was...well...I was doing some stretching exercises in your room." "Hmm. However." Fez turns to Jackie "I'm gonna get my shoes on and we can leave". Cluelessly Fez heads for his room and disappears behind the door. Kelso scurries to the apartment door with a giggle and puts his hand on the doorknob. "This is going to be awesome, just wait and see" he announces to Jackie with a laugh. They both remain silent and listen. Silence for a moment, then it happens: "Damn Kelso!! Ahhhh NO! What the hell is that?" Kelso bursts out laughing and grunting, "He kept blocking the bathroom so long, I just peed in his..." Before he can finish the sentence Fez sounds hysterically from the next room "My whole foot is wet and stinks to high heaven! You stupid son of a bitch!" Kelso throws his head back and yells "BUUUUURN" when he opens the door and runs out of the apartment.

-cut-

* evenings in the basement *

Fez, Kelso and Jackie are sitting at the table and are busy playing Boggle. "Fez, pruuf is no word." Jackie laughs amused. Fez is frowning "Of course, let me pruuf it to you!" Kelso gives him an uncomprehending expression "Damn Fez, every kid knows you spell that with a double O." Before the discussion can spread any further, the basement door opens and Hyde shuffles bored into the room to his regular place. "Hey," he mumbles in greeting and settles into his chair. "What's up with you buddy?" Fez wants to know when he sees Hyde sitting in his chair, exhausted. Hyde puts his feet on the table and moans briefly as if it were a liberating feeling. "What could be wrong?" he replies casually. Kelso puts his paper and pencil from playing boogle on the table and leans forward " Man Hyde, where have you been. You missed all the fun." "I was at the store, working," he replies succinctly. Kelso waves at him. "No, you weren't." Jackie is all ears. "What does he mean, Steven?" Hyde shrugs. " I don't know. " Kelso gets up from the couch and points at Hyde with his finger raised "Sure you do, Hyde. You weren't in the store." Fez moans, "Kelso, get to the point, what do you know? You have to share your information!" "Okay." Kelso wanders gently up and down, slowly telling the story "After I left home because of the pee pee thing..." He pauses for a moment and smiles derisively at Fez. Fez reflexively poisons Fez after one of the pens on the table and throws it at Kelso's head "Not another word of this, fool!" Kelso rubs the part of his head where the pen just bounced off "It's OK Fez." He clears his throat "well, so... anyway, I thought, this was a huge, amazing burn and I have to tell Hyde about it." Jackie crosses her arms in front of her chest "That was disgusting! But go on, Michael, go on." she tells him. "Well, I came here afterwards, but Hyde wasn't here. So I thought about where else he could be. Finally, with my razor-sharp mind, I figured he must be at the record store!" Almost in slow motion, Kelso clangs his fingers together in front of his face as if he were an evil genius hatching the ultimate plan. "So I went to the record store looking for Hyde. BUT! He wasn't there either. Randy was just there and told me that Hyde wasn't working today." He crosses his arms in front of his chest and finally stops right next to Hyde. "So Hyde. Where have you really been?!" Hyde moistens his lips and looks up at Kelso. With one hand he waves to Kelso, "Come closer and I'll whisper the truth in your ear." Full of anticipation, Kelso bends down a little towards Hyde. At the same moment, Hyde makes a fist and punches Kelso on the shoulder "You're an idiot!" he yells in Kelso's ear. "Oooouch!" Kelso whines loudly and shrugs off, "Man Hyde, that was really mean!" Hyde just grins contentedly as he sees Kelso rubbing his shoulder and ear one by one. "Steven!" Jackie's shrill voice interrupts the scenario "If you won't tell us where you were today, I'll tell you where I was today." "If necessary." mumbles Hyde barely audible. "I went to the hair salon with Fez because there was supposed to be a job for me there. As it turned out, they actually had a job for me there. And so I spent 4 hours non-stop cleaning cut, dull and frizzy women's hair off the floor!" While she is talking her voice becomes more and more shrill and the horror about the mentioned facts is clearly noticeable. "And tomorrow I will spend another four hours Steven, I had that damn hair all over my designer stuff. How long am I supposed to take that? This is no job for someone like me!" She stops for a break and looks at her boyfriend in expectation. But Hyde just grants her a tiresome look and remains silent. "Steven, are you listening to me?" Hyde nods slowly "Yes, I am doomed." In the background Fez giggles "And you have doomed yourself. For the rest of your life!" Hyde finally gets up from his seat and gives Jackie a quick kiss "You guys can do whatever you want, but I'm going to eat, take a shower and hit the sack" With these words he stomps up the basement stairs. "Wow, Jackie!" Kelso takes Hyde's chair and sits in it upside down so he can rest his arms on the backrest "Hyde and you've only been engaged for a short time and he's as messed up as he would be after 20 years of marriage." Jackie rolls her eyes in annoyance "Oh shut up, Michael." she zaps him on "Whatever. Tomorrow I'm gonna find out myself where Steven has been prowling around today!" she announces determinedly.

-cut-

*Next day, Grooves*

Randy is sorting newly delivered records alphabetically into the boxes on the table in front of him when the door is opened and someone enters the store. "Hey, can I help you?" He raises his head and walks toward the door when he sees who has come in. "Hi Randy." Jackie greets him with a friendly smile on her lips. "Oh. Jackie. What brings you here?" he asks in surprise and reflexively runs his hand through his hair. Jackie frowns "What a nice greeting. Are you uncomfortable with me being here?" Defensively he raises both hands and puts on his most charming grin "No, for heaven's sake. I just didn't expect to see you here. Do you need any records? As the boss's lady , these are free to you, of course." Determined Jackie shakes her head "No, I just wanted to see if Steven is around." Seeking, she looks around the store. There's no one present beside her and Randy. Embarrassed, Randy scratches his head "So, well, as you can see, he's not here right now. Maybe you can come back later." Jackie examines Randy attentively and crosses both arms "Where did he go? He said he had to work. And he said the same thing yesterday and he hasn't been here." Randy's eyes wander helplessly through the store as if he could read an answer on one of the posters at the wall. "You know, I have no idea It's not like he always tells me where he's going. He doesn't have to, you know.“

Jackie tightens her eyes and tries to see the truth in his face "Randy, you're hiding something from me. I see that." She takes a step towards him and slowly wanders around him, grazing his arm "You know, I can be really, really annoying when I want something. " She slowly walks another circle around him " So, Randy, you think I need to start becoming that annoying ?" Half amused and half desperate, he brings out a short laugh "So, are you telling me you haven't started yet?" "No." she replies immediately and resolutely. "All right," he stammers, "Jackie, I really can't tell you where Hyde went, okay. He told me what he was up to, but I can't tell you. He has to tell you himself, you understand?" Annoyed Jackie moans at "Randy, if Steven told me what he spends all day doing, I wouldn't be asking you, would I?" Randy shrugs, "Hey, I don't know. I just didn't have anything to do with it. You're gonna find out sooner or later. Just don't be so nosy." With a disbelieving expression a pejorative hissing sounds from Jackie's mouth " Are you hearing what you are talking about? I shouldn't be so nosy? We're talking about me, hello?" Jackie is just about to give Randy a lecture on how much she hates surprises, doesn't like secrets and has an unstoppable urge of wanting to know everything, when the front door is opened once more. The views of the two move inexorably towards the door. Hyde stands in the door and holds it open. Behind him, a black-haired, tall, athletic woman in her thirties enters the store and immediately looks around the shop. Hyde's gaze still rests on his female escort, "Here we are." he smiles at her and turns his eyes away from her and into the shop. He immediately sees Randy and Jackie staring at him. "What the..." Jackie looks at her boyfriend with her mouth open. Randy gives a forced,artificial laugh and looks at the shocked Jackie next to him " See, I told you sooner or later. Now it's sooner, good for you." The woman stands somewhat helplessly between the scene, finally she turns to Hyde "Is this your fiancée?" "yep" he replies succinctly. The pretty dark-haired woman puts on a beaming smile like in a toothpaste commercial and takes a few steps towards Jackie to "Hi, I'm Melinda." She reaches out to Jackie.

Jackie stares briefly at the hand that is extended to her, but decides not to return the greeting and passes Melinda on her way to Hyde "What the hell does this mean, Steven?" Her voice is loud and filled with rage. "Are you lying to me that you're working and secretly seeing other women?" For a moment Hyde has to grin "only with one woman." He jokes and regrets it the next moment. Hurt by his answer, Jackie storms out the door. Hyde sighs. "Maybe we'll just postpone this for another time?" Melinda expresses cautiously. Hyde shakes her head "No, if I followed her now, she would probably tear me to pieces. I'll sort it out with her later when she's had some time to cool off." "You really think that's a good idea, Hyde? The more time you give her to think, the worse her plan will be when you talk to her. Maybe she's already got herself a loaded gun or something?" Randy points out.

Melinda's face looks shocked when she hears Randy's words. "Wow, looks like your fiancée is quite a lovely young lady." she smiles cautiously because she knows nothing else to say. Hyde nods with a grin, "Oh yes, that's her."

-cut-

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From now on we are up to date and the chapters appear (hopefully) weekly. It depends on how much time I have. I would definitely upload more chapters on regular basis...if you like. Please let me know. Criticism is always welcome. :-)

**Author's Note:**

> Writing style? Not perfect.  
> English? Not perfect.  
> But I've been working on it for a few months now, and I want to encourage you: I've really improved since I started. I hope it doesn´t demotivate you ^^"


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